5 355 
147 
spy 1 



**JFPB4 



iMtilb 




SPRINGFIELD, MASS.: 

THE PHELPS PUBLISHING COMPANY. 

1886. 



§,mm.cau Sgriailture. ^x^ n~V^ 



THE 



PRACTICAL 
FRUIT GROWER. 



V 

S^T^'MAYNARD, B. S., 

PROFESSOR OF BOTANY AND HORTICULTURE AT THE MASS- 
ACHUSETTS AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. 



PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED, 



[Copyright, 1885, by the Phelps Publishing Company.] 




SPKINGFIELD, MASS. : 
THE PHELPS PUBLISHING- COMPANY. 

1886. 



PREFACE. 

Tn this age of book-making, a new book should not be urged 
upon the public unless to supply a real need. My excuse for pre- 
senting at this time this little volume, is the want, on the part of 
beginners in the business of fruit culture, and of the common 
farmer who has not the time nor inclination to study extensive 
works upon the subject, of a book that shall be sold at a small 
price yet cover the entire field of fruit cultivation, in all its de- 
tails, in a plain and practical manner. The limits of the present 
work, however, will not allow of an extended discussion as to the 
merits of the many methods of growth and cultivation, and I 
have aimed to give only such as arc largely practiced by the most 
successful fruit growers. 

S. T. MAYNARD. 

Massachusetts Agricultural College, 

Amherst. Mass., 1885. 



<^ 



THE APPLE — VALUE OF — ORIGIN. 



CHAPTER I. 



THE APPLE (PYBUS MALTJS). 

VALUE OF ORIGIN IMPROVEMENT BY HYBRIDIZATION AND SE- 
LECTION ESSENTIAL QUALITIES. 

Value of the Apple. — This most ancient and important fruit 
of the temperate zone is found and grows successfully wherever 
civilization exists. It is largely cultivated throughout the whole 
of Europe, portions of Northern Africa, Northern Asia, China, 
Japan, Australia, South America, and in North America from 
Alaska to Florida. The product of the Apple crop in a single 
year in the United States alone has reached the enormous amount 
of over 50,000,000 bushels, and more than 1,000,000 acres are 
planted with Apple trees. Aside from the value of its fruit, the 
wood is very valuable for making weavers' shuttles, and for other 
purposes requiring hard, close-grained wood. 

Origin. — The fruit we now enjoy is so entirely unlike the 
original type of the species as to be hardly recognized as belong- 
ing to it, yet when the specific test is applied, i. e., that of its re- 
production from seed, we find that the seedlings, even from the 
most improved varieties, soon revert to the original form. It 
undoubtedly originated from the wild crab of Middle and North- 
ern Europe. The type of the wild crab is seen in many of the 
wild seedlings common in neglected pastures throughout the 
United States, the fruit of which is hard and often acid, and the 
branches often tipped with sharp thorns. 

The improved varieties now in cultivation are the result of 
the influence of improved condition of soil, climate, etc. Many 
of, or, I might say, most of the best varieties known to us, are 
chance seedlings, or sports, as they are called. No one can tell 
whether they resulted from crossing by natural fertilization or 
from a change in the germ due to superior surroundings of plant 
food and climatic influence. 

Improvement in Varieties. — In considering the various 
subjects of improvement of varieties, methods of propagation, 
cultivation, pruning ? etc., it will be my aim to deal in general, 



4 IMPROVEMENT OF THE APPLE. 

principles, so that, for economy of space, the subject niay be 
referred to again when necessary without repetition. 

Hybridization. — Very little attention has ever been given to 
the production of new varieties of the Apple by crossing, or 
hybridization ; a method which, in the case of some other fruits, 
has resulted in very marked progress in the improvement of 
varieties. Perhaps it may be of interest to those experimentally 
inclined in this direction to describe the process. This is per- 
formed by taking two flowers (and the process is the same with 
all fruits) of desirable varieties, — as, one a strong, rampant 
grower, while the other produces fruit of remarkable quality; 
removing the stamens from one flower before it opens, and, 
after tliis operation, inclosing it in a fine gauze bag. When the 
pistil of this flower is in the proper condition, i. e., when the end 
of the stigma is covered with a viscid fluid, the pollen from the 
other flower is applied to its surface, and then again inclosed in 
the bag, until certain that fertilization has taken place. 

Selection. — Another method which promises good results is 
that of selection; that is, by sowing the most perfectly developed 
seed of the best varieties. By either of the above methods, there 
is but little incentive to the production of new varieties of Apples 
or Pears, on account of the long time required to produce fruit 
and to test its value in many localities, and the small money value 
in a new variety to the originator. Whatever is done in this 
line must be done for posterity and from a love of the work, but, 
I believe, there are great possibilities of improvement in the 
future in the light of the improvement of the past. 

The best results have always come from the use of the most 
hardy native kinds, although the introduction of new blood, as it 
is called, is often marked by a wonderful improvement in the 
progeny. If a variety has marked failings, they are liable to be 
transmitted, although, in some cases, they may be overcome or 
covered up by the strong or valuable qualities of the other parent 
in the case of hybridization. 

Important Qualities. — The qualities that are most important 
in a new variety are: Hardiness, vigor of growth, productiveness, and 
/in, quality. Without the three first, the last quality is of little 
consequence; because, with the people, cheap fruit in abundance 
is tin- greal want, and will add greatly to their health and, con- 
sequently, to theit happiness. 



RAISING APPLES FROM SEED. 



CHAPTER II. 



PROPAGATION OF THE APPLE. 



APPLE SEEDLINGS — TO GET GOOD SEED — THE SEED BED — APPLE 
SEEDS — PRESERVING SEEDS — ROOT GRAFTLNG — CARE OF ROOT 
GRAFTS. 

The varieties of Apples are propagated by budding or grafting 
upon seedlings. The seedlings used for stocks are most com- 
monly grown from seed obtained from the pomace of the cider 
mills by washing. While some good seeds may be obtained in 
this way, the majority must be imperfectly developed, as most of 
the fruit used for making cider are the wind-falls and those in- 
jured by the codlin moth. To obtain good seed, the fruit of 
strong native trees should be selected. The fruit may be ground 
up for cider and the seeds then separated, or the Apples may be 
planted whole. Some of the best seedlings I have ever grown 
were from seed planted with the whole apple in the fall. 

The Seed-bed. — The soil for the seed-bed should be deep and 
moist, and made rich by the addition of an abundance of well 
decomposed manure, or ground bone and potash. New soil will 
grow much better seedlings than that previously cultivated for 
several years. It should be broken up and planted with potatoes 
one year, or until it gets mellow. The first year after turf land 
is plowed there are many larva3 in the soil that feed upon the 
young roots of the seedlings and greatly injure them. If the 
seed is purchased from seed dealers, it is often difficult to get it 
in season for sowing in the fall. In such cases it must be pre- 
served through the winter packed in boxes of sand and be kept 
in a cool cellar, as near freezing as possible ; or, the box may be 
placed partly under ground, out of doors, where there is no dan- 
ger of standing water, taking care that the sand does not get dry 
during the winter. 

As soon as the ground will work up fine, the seed should be 
sown with the sand in drills 18 inches apart, and so that the seed- 
lings will stand two or three inches apart. All of the weak and 
imperfect seedlings should be thinned out as soon as their char- 
acter can be determined, and the soil be kept free from weeds 
and mellow. If the seed-bed was properly prepared and the seed 



ROOT GRAFTING. 



good, the seedlings should have made from one to two feet of 
growth the first season. 

The seedlings may be allowed to remain in the seed-bed until 
the following spring and then transplanted to the nursery to be 
budded. If to be root-grafted, they ' should be dug in the fall 
and carefully packed in moss or moist sawdust, and kept in a cool 
cellar until wanted for grafting. 

Root Grafting. — During the winter, when very little can be 
done out of doors in the nursery, such work as root grafting and 
making cuttings is done indoors. The seedlings, 
previously dug and packed in moss or sawdust, are 
taken as needed from the cellar and the cions 
grafted, upon them at or just below the collar, i. e., 
J Qj that part where the root and top joins. The kind 
of graft known as tongue or whip-grafting is illus- 
trated by Figures 1, 2 and 3. 

The stock (Fig. 1) is taken in the left hand, and 
such lateral roots as will interfere with planting are 
shortened and the lower end cut off if the root is 
'II t \ more than eight inches long; six to eight inches is 
the usual length of the root. An upward, slanting 
cut is then made, with the tongue as at a. The 
cion (Fig. 2), a piece four to six inches long, of the 
last season's growth of the A'ariety desired, and as 
nearly of the same size as the stock as possible, is 
then taken and a similar cut made at the base. The 
>4 In \ two parts are then pressed firmly together, and the 
union is bound firmly with waxed string or waxed 
cloth (Fig. 3). Some nurserymen prefer the string, 
which does not cover the entire surface of the cut, 
and others the band, which perfectly excludes the 
air and moisture. Cions should not be cut when 
frozen, but may be cut at any other time 1 and pre- 
served in damp moss until wanted for use. 
Fig. i After the root-grafts are thus made, they are 

packed in boxes of sand or light soil, and the soil very firmly 
packed around them, especially at the point where the graft is 




L ''^^^s^s^r^ 



Fig. 2. 

made. In the spring the 

t ransplanted t<> t he nursery. 



ot-grafts and seedlings are to be 



PLANTING IN THE NURSERY. 



CHAPTER III. 



THE APPLE NURSERY. 




SOIL — PLANTING BUDDING — TIME FOR BUDDING — HOW TO BUD 

UTENSILS AND MATERIAL EMPLOYED POINTS TO BE OB- 
SERVED IN BUDDING NURSERY CULTURE — FORMING THE 

HEAD 

Soil. — The soil best suited for the growth of nursery trees 
should be deep, rich and moist, and be plowed to the depth of at 
least 15 inches. The seedling for budding should be dug as soon 
as the frost is out and the land will work mellow. After short- 
ening the tap roots and some of the laterals a little, plant in rows 
four feet apart, and from six to eight inches apart in the row. 

Planting. — After the land is thoroughly prepared and made 
smooth, a line is stretched and the seedlings (if the roots are not 
much branched) are planted with a tool called a 
dibble (Fig. 4). Where the soil is made mellow 
to a depth of more than one foot, seedlings, root- 
grafts, and cuttings may be very rapidly planted by 
the use of this tool. If the roots of the seedlings or 
root-grafts are much branched, they must be planted 
by opening a trench with a spade or plow, as deep 
as required to have the top bud just above the sur- 
face of the soil. The most important part of the 
operation of planting seedlings, root-grafts or long 
cuttings is that the soil be very firmly pressed about 
the lower ends. This may be done by the foot, or, 
much better, by the " tamper " (Fig. 5). This con- 
sists of a piece of two-inch plank cut with a base 
of about six to eight inches, and tapering up to 
three inches wide at the top, in which is inserted a 
hoe or fork handle. 

Budding. — After planting, the seedlings require very little 
care, except good cultivation and a little pinching to force the 
growth into one main stem, until August, when they are to be 
budded with the variety desired for the orchard or for sale. 

The best time for budding the apple is generally the last of 



V 



Fig. 4. 



A 



8 HOW TO BUI). 

August, although, if the growth of the seedlings is likely to 
mature earlier, by reason of drouth, leaf-blight, or insects, 
they must he budded earlier. Or, if the season is moist 
and warm, it may be done as late as September. Budding 
must be done before severe freezing, as that causes a 
thickening or maturing of the soft cells of the cambium 
layer of the bark, thus making the union of the bud and 
stock much more difficult and very uncertain of success. 
Before beginning the operation of budding, the stocks 
should be carefully prepared by trimming off all of the 
lower branches and leaves for three or four inches from 
the ground, so as not to delay the work of cutting and 
inserting the buds. 

The material used for tying may be the bast fibre 
obtained from the Russian mats that come around Russian 
iron. This is cut into lengths of from 10 inches to one 
foot, according to the size of the stock to be budded, and 
separated into thin, smooth bands of one-fourth of an inch 
in width. Cotton warp obtained from cotton factories is Fi§ " 5# 
being extensively used in some nurseries on account of its greater 
strength. The material used must be such that it will not shrink 
upon being wet, nor expand or loosen when dry. The bands are 
used in a moist condition; which is preserved, while in the field, 
by putting them in a " wrapper " — a roll of cloth lined with a 
sheet of oiled paper. 

The knife used must be sharp and with a thin blade rounded at 
tlr Mil, as illustrated by Fig. C. The common shoe-knife, with a 

short blade, is now most 
generally used; the upper 
.part of the point being 
rounded over so as to 
Fig. (i. answer the purpose of the 

ivory blade of the old style budding knife. 

How TO Bud. — The process of budding is illustrated by Figs. 
7 to 11. The conditions of success arc: 1, the stock must be in a 
vigorous growing state, so that the bark will peel easily; 2, the 
budfl must be well matured; 3, the knife must be sharp; 4, the 
work must be done rapidly ; 5, the buds must be firmly and evenly 
hound in place. 

When everything is ready for the work, the first thing is to 
prepare ;i Lol <>!' bud-sticks (Fig. 7). Shoots of medium size are 
selected, taking care to get only these that have but one leaf at a 
joint, as where there is more than one leaf, there are generally 
one or more fruit buds. The leaves are cut off, leaving about 
one-fourth of an inch ol* the petiole or stem for a handle with 
which to insert the hud. The bud-sticks arc kept from drying by 
using a wrapper, as for the hands. "Where much budding is to 
be done, i wo persons are generally employed; one to cut and put in 
the buds, and one to tie or wrap them. 




BUDDING EXPLAINED. 



9 




Where only a small number are to be budded, the operator 

carries the wrappers, both over the left shoulder, and with th e 

knife makes first a cross-cut 

about two inches from the 

ground; then a longitudinal 

one on the north side, so as not 

to be injured by freezing and 

thawing in winter; at the same 

time raising the bark a little, as 

shown in Fig. 8. A bud-stick, 

Fig. 7, is then taken; with the 

knife a cut is made just through 

the bark about one-half inch 

above the bud, taking only a 

very thin portion of the wood. 

The length of the cut must be 

varied for the different kinds 

of trees. For the peach, the 

whole bud need not be much 

more than one-half of an inch 

long, while for the pear and 

cherry it should be at least one 

inch in length. 
After the bud is cut, Fig. 9, the 

lower end is inserted under the 

raised bark of the stock and pressed down by means of the remain- 
ing part of the leaf stem, Fig. 10. If the bark does not peel easily 

enough to be raised by the pressure upon the bud, the stock is not 

in the best condition for success; and it may be necessary to raise 

it by the use of the rounded portion of the blade of the knife. 

After the bud is in position, it is 
tied by holding one end of the 
band in the left hand, placing it 
against the stock, and winding 
the other end over the first, so as 
to hold it while both hands are 
employed to bind the bud smoothly 
and firmly ; winding first upward, 
crossing above the bud, returning 
and tying below the bud, as shown 
in Fig. 11. The most important 
point in tying is to bind the bark 
down firmly and smoothly over 
the bud. After the trees have 
been budded a week or two, de- 
pending upon the condition of the 
weather, they should be examined, 
and if the growth is such that the 
bands are cutting into the stock so 
ma u as to injure them, they should be 




10 FORMING THE TREE. 

loosened and re-tied; or cut on the back side, if the bud is found 
well united with the stock. 

The next spring after budding, the stock is cut off with a sharp 
knife, placing the blade on the side opposite the bud at the height of 
the cross-cut, and making an upward stroke, so that the knife will 
come out about one inch above the bud. When growth begins it 
will be found that the buds of the stock will start more vigorously 
than the one inserted, and when they are an inch or two long, 
they should be broken off, that the growth may all go with the 
inserted bud. 

Nursery Culture. — The after-treatment of the bud and root- 
graft, in the nursery, should be the same; the object being the 
growth of clean, healthy, well-formed trees. Only one shoot 
should be allowed to grow, and if laterals start out, they must be 
pinched off. At the end of the first season's growth, or before 
they start in the spring following, the stocks are to be cut back to 
the ground, and only one shoot allowed to grow, that a clean, 
straight trunk may be obtained. 

Forming the Head. — During the summer of the second year, 
if the growth has been satisfactory, the head is formed. If the 
trees are to be planted where they must be kept cultivated, the 
head should be formed five feet high. This is a difficult thing to 
do, but the tree must be headed up as high as possible by rubbing 
off the lateral buds, as soon as they start in the spring, from 
three to four feet up from the ground, and then pinching the ends 
of the lateral branches above ; leaving a clean leader in the centre, 
upon which laterals will be formed, as is shown by the dotted lines 
at b, Fig. 14, Page 15. The trees must have careful attention 
during the entire season if fine form is desired; and only those 
shoots should be allowed to grow that are needed to make a well- 
shaped head. A large amount of foliage should never be removed 
from any tree; and at this stage of growth, there should not be 
any necessity for so doing, if they have had proper treatment. 

In the growth of fruit or any other kind of trees, it should be 
made a rule "not Id cut away more wood or foliage than is 
absolutely necessary to accomplish the desired end, i. e., the per- 
fect-formed tree; for every cut upon a tree, whether large or 
small, can only result in weakness, although the injury may be 
more or l<ss overcome by good cultivation and an abundance of 
plant food." If the trees are making a weak growth, indicating 
exhaustion <>t' the soil, manure or chemical fertilizers must be 
used; lull they should be applied late in the fall or early in the 
spring, as a Late summer application often results in so late a 
growth of the trees thai tin' wood does not get well ripened, and 
the trees are injured in the winter. 



TREES FOR THE ORCHARD. 11 



CHAPTER IV, 



THE APPLE ORCHARD. 

TREES FOR PLANTING — PROPER FORM, AGE AND SIZE OF TREE — 
THE LAND FOR THE APPLE — ESSENTIALS TO SUCCESS — LAYING 
OUT THE ORCHARD — THE PLANTING BOARD — DIGGING THE 
HOLES — MANURING. 

Trees for Planting. — The best trees for planting are vigor- 
ous trees that have reached a medium size at the age of three or 
four years from the bud or root-graft. While a large tree is not 
desirable, on account of the number of roots that must necessar- 
ily be destroyed in digging, it has more vitality and will stand 
more ill-treatment and exposure than a smaller one. The fibrous 
roots of the young tree will be found within a short distance of 
the trunk; while in an older one they have been extending a little 
further each year, and when dug little else but the main branches 
are obtained. It is a good plan to obtain trees, of medium size, 
if they are purchased, one or two years before the time of 
planting and set them carefully in the nursery row eight or ten 
inches apart; or if the trees were grown upon one's own grounds, 
take them up and transplant them again before setting out. 
Trees in this condition can be moved with nearly all the fibrous 
roots and not receive much check. 

If the planter has the necessary skill to grow up a tree to the prop- 
er form and height, after they are planted in the orchard, it would 
be much safer to plant stocky, low-branched trees ; as a tall, slim 
one is liable to injury from the large surface exposed to a hot, 
drying atmosphere, after being removed from the shelter of the 
nursery. The training or " heading up " to the proper height is 
illustrated by Figs. 13 and 14, Page 15. For the majority of 
planters, until this skill is acquired, the nurseryman must grow 
the trees to the height adapted to orchard cultivation. 

The land best suited for the growth of the Apple is a deep, 
moist, sandy loam ; but the Apple will give fair crops upon almost 
any soil, except a very sandy one. 

Two methods of growth are in common use: The first where the 
trees are grown in turf; and second, where the land is kept un 
der cultivation with some other crop. No matter what system 



12 LAYING OUT AND PLANTING. 

may be adopted, one tiling must be constantly kept in mind, i. e., 
that we cannot expect satisfactory results unless there is an abund- 
ance of proper plant food and moisture in the soil in condition to be 
taken up by the roots of the trees. 

Distance for Planting. — Trees of medium size, like the 
Early Harvest, Garden Royal, Fameuse, etc., should be planted 
thirty by thirty feet. Those that are kept in a close, compact form 
by heading-in may also be set the same distance. The larger kinds, 
like the Baldwin, Gravenstein, etc., if allowed to spread to full 
size, should be planted thirty-five by forty, or forty by forty 
feet. 

Laying out the Orchard. — In planting an orchard, whether 
it is to be cultivated or not, it is advisable to have the 
rows straight and the trees at equal distances apart; not only for 
beauty, but for convenience in getting about among them. Perhaps 
the best way to do this is to use a long, hard-twisted cord or wire 
with marks at proper intervals upon it. The wire is much the 
best as it is not affected by wet or dryness, and will not stretch. 
This line should be stretched along two opposite sides and stakes 
driven at the marks upon it. Then stretch it from the opposite 
stakes, putting stakes at every mark, and it will be found that all 
are in line from every point of observation. 

To lay out an orchard so that the stakes shall all be exactly in 
line is a very simple matter, but to plant the trees so they shall 
be equally true, is almost an impossibility, without the aid of 
something besides the eye. Two methods are sometimes adopted: 
The first, by using the same wire employed for staking out; and 
second, by what is known as the planting board. The objection 
to the first is, that it is in the way of the workmen in planting and 
is liable to be moved to one side or the other by only slight 
pressure. 

The Planting Board, however, is free from the above objec- 
tions, and is illustrated by I t i 

Fig. 12. It consists of a ' n ftJ 

narrow board about four Fig. 12. 

feet long, with a notch in the centre and one equally distant from 
this at each end. Before digging the holes, this board is placed 
with the centre notch against the stake and held firmly, while 
the stake is pulled up and put in the notch at one end, and 
another slake at tin- notch in the other end. The board can now 
be taken away and the hole dug, taking care not to disturb the 
two stakes. 

Digging the Holes. — If many trees are to be planted, it is 
best to dig as many holes during the middle of the day as can be 
tilled with trees during the last two hours of the afternoon and 
the first two hours <>f the morning, as the roots will be much leas 
liable to injury than if planted in the hot sun in the middle of the 
day. If the laud is to he cultivated, the holes need be only large 
enough to allow the spreading of all of the roots in their natural 



MANURING THE ORCHARD. 13 

positions; their size must depend upon the size and kind of tree 
planted. If the trees are to be planted in turf, it will be advis- 
able to dig the hole three to four feet in diameter and to loosen 
the subsoil somewhat. The surface soil should be thrown in a 
pile by itself, to be used for filling around the roots, and the sub- 
soil in another pile, to be spread upon the surface. 

If the soil is poor, it is necessary for success that some well 
rotted manure or fertilizer be put with the soil for filling in 
about the roots. This must be thoroughly mixed with the soil, 
or it may result in injury rather than benefit. If coarse 
manure only is at hand, it should not be used until the roots have 
been covered with two or three inches of soil, when it may be 
applied with safety. The amount to be used must vary accord- 
ing to the poorness of the soil and the strength of the manure, 
ranging from one to two shovelfuls of fine, well decomposed 
manure; or from two to four large handfuls of fine ground 
bone; or one to two handfuls of the prepared bone and potash, 
well mixed with the soil. Many people will blame the nursery- 
man because the trees they plant do not grow, when the main 
cause is in the fact that there is nothing in the soil to make them 
grow. One has as good a right to expect a good crop of corn 
from land with no fertilizing elements in it, as a good growth of 
trees in a similar soil. If some of the people who fail in tree 
planting from this cause, — and most failures do result from 
starvation of the tree, — could see the amount of manure used by 
the nurserymen and successful orchardists (and needed, too) to 
make their trees grow, they would cease to wonder why theirs do 
no better, and put the blame where it belongs. 



14 PREPARING FOR PLANTING. 



CHAPTER V. 



SETTING THE APPLE ORCHARD. 

DIGGING TREES FROM THE NURSERY — PREPARING TREES FOR 
PLANTING FORMING THE HEAD — PLANTING THE TREES CUL- 
TIVATION — TURF CULTURE — SUPPLYING FOOD TO THE ORCHARD. 

Digging the Trees from the Nursery. — To those who may 
have grown their own trees, I offer a few words of advice as to 
the best way to get the trees from the ground with the least in- 
jury. Nursery trees are best dug by three men; two with spades, 
and one to pull out the trees after they are loosened. The two 
men with spades first remove the surface soil down to the upper 
lateral roots, for a space of at least two feet from the trunk on each 
side ; the spades are then inserted, the soil loosened, and the roots 
outside of the circle of soil removed are cut off. After loosening 
the soil, both spades are inserted, and with a lifting movement, the 
third man at the same time pulling, the tree is lifted with nearly all 
of the fibrous roots within the space of two or three feet. The trees 
should be thrown in piles of from ten to twenty-five, and covered 
with a mat or blanket. If not to be planted at once, they should 
be removed to near the place of planting and be "heeled in;" 
that is, the roots covered carefully with soil. 

Preparing the Tree for Planting. — No matter how care- 
fully the trees are dug, more or less of the roots will be destroyed 
or injured. As trees are often received from the nurseries, there 
is Little f<> them but the top and a few stubs of roots. In this 
condition, there are a large number of buds on the top to "be 
supplied with food and moisture from a small amount of roots. 
The consequence is that none of the branches make much growth; 
or, perhaps, evaporation is so great from the expanding buds and 
the Large amount of surface of the branches exposed, that the 
moisture is dried <mi latter than it is supplied by the scanty roots, 
and the tree dies. 

To remedy this condition, the top should be reduced in propor- 
tion to the amount of injury to the roots. The older and larger 
the tree, the more severely must it be pruned. The large roots, 
wherever injured, should be cut off smooth, as decay is much 



FORMING THE HEAD PLANTING. 



15 



more likely to spread from a torn than from a smoothly cnt 
surface. 

Forming the Head.— In cutting- back the top of the tree to 
make a balance between the root and top, the formation of the 
head should be kept in mind and all shoots not needed to make a 
good head should be removed. The trees received from most 
nurseries are of two forms, with slight modifications, as illustrated 
by Fig 13, where the branches come out 
at the same point; and by Fig. 14, where 
the branches are distributed along a 
main axis. The objection to the first 
form is, that when the trees become 
loaded with fruit, they are liable to split 
down in the fork; while in the second 
case, there is no such danger. A good 
rule to follow is, to cut away all branches 
not needed to give the head a good form ; 
and shorten all others from one-half to 
three-fourths, according to the amount 
of injury the roots had received in 
digging. 

It often happens that the trees received 
from the nursery are headed two low, 
and require " heading up." This is ac- 
complished by cutting away all but the 
leading shoot, as is shown by Fig. 13, D, 
and Fig. 14, AAA, where new branches will be thrown out from 
the lateral buds, as is shown by the dotted lines. To head trees 
up to six feet in height, often requires two or three years from 
planting. Trees with a tall trunk are more liable* to injury on 
account of exposure to sun, and frost, and other causes, than those 
with a short trunk, while in the latter the fruit is more easily 
gathered. 

Planting. — Having the holes dug, the trees pruned, and every- 
thing in readiness, the most important part of the work is now to 
be done. Only a few trees should be dropped at once, and these 
with the roots in the holes, that they may not be more exposed to 
the air than is necessary. Three men are required to do the work 
most rapidly; one to carry the trees, hold them in place, spread 
out the roots and press the soil in about them; and two with 
spades, one of whom carries the planting board. Perhaps ten 
trees have been dropped, when man No. 1. takes up the first tree, 
while No. 2. fixes the planting board with the end notches against 
the two stakes. No. 1 now places the tree trunk in the middle 
notch of the planting board and spreads the roots, while No. 3 is 
prepared to throw in some fine, rich, surface soil, which No. 1 
works carefully in around the roots, treading it firmly in place. 
As soon as the tree is in its proper place, No. 2 throws his board to 
the next hole, and takes up his spade to assist infilling in the soil, 




Fig. 13. 



16 CULTURE OF THE ORCHARD. 

In this operation, the secret of success is to see that there are no 
air spaces around the roots or under the collar, and that the soil is 
pressed very firmly around the roots. 

Cultivation. — The effect of stirring the soil after plant- 
ing trees is: First, in preventing the escape of moisture by 
forming a layer of loose non-conducting material of the 
surface; and second, by hastening the preparation of plant 
food in the soil by the air admitted. In young orchards, if it is 
thought necessary to cultivate, it will be found most economical 
to grow some hoed crop among the trees for several years at 
least; but as a rule, such crops will not more than pay the cost of 
cultivation and manure vised, while they often fall far short of 
this, and the owner must take his profit in the increased value 
of his orchard. Any hoed crop may be used that does not require 
cultivation late in the fall, for young orchard land should never 
be cultivated between August first and November first, as it is 
almost certain to prolong the growth of wood so that the trees 
will be in danger of injury from the winter. 

Turf Culture. — In turf culture, the preservation of moisture 
in the soil must be gained by the use of mulch. Any material, as 
brush, brakes, coarse meadow-grass, straw, leaves, planing-machine 
shavings, etc., may be used; while the plant food must be added 
in some form at the time of planting the trees, or later upon the 
surface. 

In nearly every state in the Union there are thousands upon 
thousands of acres of land so rough and stony that it cannot be 
cultivated, and upon which are often found apple trees remarkable 
for their vigor and productiveness. The fruit produced upon such 
land is noted for its high color and rich flavor, and for long- 
keeping qualities. Much of this land is almost worthless for any 
other purpose than forestry and the production of the large fruits ; 
and if properly planted and cared for, it would in a few years give 
a large income for the investment. In planting such land, 
particular care must be given to the preparation of the soil 
directly around the tree, and to saving the material often found 
growing upon it, — such as sedges, brakes, brush, etc., — or obtained 
elsewhere, to be used for mulch, to prevent the escape of the 
moisture that is rapidly carried away by the leaves of grasses and 
other plants. 

The advantages claimed for this system are, that the trees 
mature their wood much earlier in the autumn, and consequently 
are less liable to injury From cold; the roots are protected from 
injury from the extremes of heat and cold, by the grass roots; 
the trees begin bearing much earlier and bear more regularly, the 
fruit is of better quality and keeps longer; the cost of land and 
cultivation is much less, while a satisfactory growth may be 
obtained by the use of a small amount of manure or fertilize! 
applied to the surface, 



FEEDING THE TREE. 17 

I wish to repeat here, however, what I have said on a previous 
page: Whatever system is followed, success will not be obtained 
unless an abundant supply of plant food be provided; and the 
cheapest and best method of supplying the above conditions must 
be decided upon by the good sense of the grower, according to 
his surroundings. 

2 



18 THE USE OF STABLE MANURE. 



CHAPTER VI. 



MANURING, PRUNING AND CARING FOR THE 
APPLE ORCHARD. 

STABLE MANURE HOW TO USE IT — FERTILIZERS AND THEIR AP- 
PLICATION — MULCHING — PRUNING IMPLEMENTS FOR PRUNING. 

Stable manure is always good for fruit trees in limited quan- 
tities, but it may be used so as to cause harm instead of good. It 
should be applied sparingly to young trees, unless the soil is very 
poor or an exhausting crop is to be taken from the land, that will 
feed largely upon the elements that tend to produce a coarse, 
woody growth, i. e., the nitrogenous elements. The best time to 
apply stable manure is in the fall — on land that will not wash 
badly — or very early in the spring. If applied in the summer, 
it causes a late growth that is very liable to injury and disease. 

When the trees reach maturity, and are bearing exhausting 
crops of fruit, manure may be used more liberally, especially in 
the spring of the bearing year, for many trees are almost ruined 
by their effort to produce a very large crop of fruit, particularly 
should the season prove dry. Such trees are in the condition of 
the over-loaded and ill-fed horse, or the poor, over- worked laborer; 
they are all alike liable to the attack of contagious diseases. 
Trees that have been injured by over-bearing may be improved 
very much by the application of nitrogenous manure the non- 
fruiting year. The effect is to cause a large development of wood 
at the expense of the fruit buds. This illustrates a law that we 
find throughout all life, both plant and animal: That causes 
which increase the vigor of the stock or body, decrease the re- 
productive forces; while a decrease of vigor in the body or stock, 
gives activity to the powers of reproduction. Herein is a wise pro- 
vision of nature for the perpetuation of species; for when the 
body or stock is vigorous, there is no necessity for immediate 
provision for the future; but when the body becomes weak, na- 
ture makes an unusual effort to perpetuate the species by an 
increase of the reproductive powers. 

Fertilizers. — One of the greatest difficulties the fruit grower 
meets in his business is that of obtaining the necessary amount of 
plant food to produce satisfactory results. This problem is be- 



CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS. 19 

coming in a measure solved in the large amount of chemical 
manures now beiug manufactured. Of those kinds best suited for 
the production of fruit, tine ground bone and potash are the best, 
with more or less nitrogen to produce a vigorous plant body. The 
best grades of bone contain sufficient nitrogen for most soils, but 
for very poor land it will be found necessary to use some nitro- 
genous compound like nitrate of soda, sulphate of ammonia or 
animal matter. For an acre of Apple trees (forty trees) over ten 
years of age, the following formula will give good results, varying 
the quantity of the elements used according to the kind of soil, 
and the crops, other than fruit, removed: 

250 lbs. fine ground bone. 

100 lbs. high grade (80 per cent) muriate of potash. 
50 lbs. sulphate of ammonia or nitrate of soda. 

If the soil is very poor, as indicated by the slow growth of the 
tree, more of the last element must be used; if the land is rich, 
and the trees are making too much wood, use only the bone and 
potash. The effect of the nitrogenous elements is to increase the 
leaf action of the plant; of the potash to cause a large develop- 
ment of starch and sugar; while the phosphoric acid of the bone 
causes a large development of the seed. For fruit alone, bone 
and potash are perhaps the best fertilizer that can be used. 

As with stable manure, the best time to apply fertilizers is late 
in the fall or very early in the spring. 

Mulching. — Without water in the soil, no fertilizer or man- 
ure will have much effect upon plant growth; and upon soils that 
are liable to injury from drouth, mulching in some form must be 
resorted to. In the cultivation of the soil, the fine, loose layer of 
soil on top, is a most effectual mulch. 

Pruning. — The first year after the tree is planted it must have 
constant attention. It is like a child, and its first years of train- 
ing determine its character or form. After the main branches 
have become fixed, as illustrated in Fig. 14, Page 13, all the prun- 
ing the trees require is to give symmetry and regularity to the 
head by pinching out the bud of those shoots that tend to out- 
grow the others, until the branches become liable to injury by 
crossing and rubbing together or until so thick as to interfere with 
ease in gathering the fruit. While young, the trees should be al- 
lowed to grow with a close head ; for when they begin to bear, 
the- weight of the fruit will bend down the lower branches enough 
to let in all the sunlight and air needed for the perfection of the 
fruit. The largest and best fruit is always borne upon those trees 
with the largest and most perfect leaf development. 

Cutting of large branches should be avoided, as every blow 
made upon a tree is certain to shorten its life. It is generally 
known that cutting off a large quantity of branches, in the fall or 
winter, will cause a great increase in the size and quality of the 
fruit the following year. Consequently the farmer thinks he 
must prune his trees annually. But this increase is at the expense 



20 



11EASGNS FOB PRUNING. 



of the tree to a certain degree, for the number of apples is 
diminished in proportion to the severity of the pruning and 
consequently, with the same amount of food and root force that the 
whole crop would have had, the remaining fruit is much increased 
in size. Had the labor expended in pruning been directed to 
thinning the fruit, or in the application of more plant food, there 
would have been a much greater gain in the crop of fruit and no 
loss in the vigor of the trees. But four good reasons can be given 
for cutting off large branches from fruit trees: 

1. To Improve the Form. — It sometimes is the case that a tree 
becomes one-sided from the influence of prevailing winds, or other 
causes, when a little judicious cutting of branches may be necessary 
to rectify the trouble. 

2. To Enable Teams to Work under their Branches. — The re- 
moval of large branches for this reason is sometimes necessary, 
but in most cases the desired end may be accomplished by cutting 

off the end at an upright branch, 
as illustrated at a, Fig. 15. 

3. To Enable the Pickers to 
Gather the Fruit Easily. — As trees 
become older, especially if they 
have been subjected to the "annual 
pruning," suckers come out in 
large numbers upon the main 
branches, and make it very diffi- 
cult to gather the fruit upon the 
inside of the tree. These suckers 
are the result of the effort of the 
plant to overcome the injury 
caused by the action of the sun 
Fi o- 15 - and cold upon the bare branches, 

and should be thinned out only enough to accomplish the desired 

end, and to allow some of the irust vigorous branches to develop 

more fully, and thus renew 

the tree. 

4. To Remove such Branches 

as 'ire Dead. — The removal of 

dead branches is best accom- 
plished, in the summer when 

the foliage is upon the trees. 
When large branches must 

be iv moved, the wound should ^rt 

he covered with linseed oil 

and lead paint, or grafting 

wax, (o preserve the injured 

part from decay until it has 

healed over. This paint may 

he made the color of the hark 

of the tree by the addition of 





Fig. 16. 



TOOLS FOR PRUNING. 



21 



a little black, green and brown coloring matter. The condition 
of many of the apple orchards of the country is illustrated by 
Fig. 16, while the more perfect form is shown in Fig. 15. 

Implements for Pruning. — For removing large branches, a 






sE=ssr 






Fig. 17. 

saw with a long narrow blade is best. Fig. 17 illustrates a very 
serviceable form. For heading-in branches that are outgrowing 
their neighbors, to the injury of the form of the tree, and to 
remove insects' nests and eggs, the pruning hook is very useful. 




Fig. 18. 

Fig. 18 illustrates the Waters' pruning hook, which is one of 
the best. A pruning knife is also necessary for the removal of 
suckers from the trunk, and for paring the wounds smooth when 
large branches are cut away. 



22 CHANGING THE BEARING YEAR. 



CHAPTER VII. 



GRAFTING THE APPLE. 

AGE OF FRUITING ODD-YEAR BEARING TO CHANGE THE BEAR- 
ING YEAR RE-GRAFTING OLD TREES — HOW TO GRAFT TIME OF 

GRAFTING. 

Age of Fruiting. — The average age at which the Apple will 
begin to bear profitable crops of fruit, is from eight to ten years 
from planting in the orchard ; varying with the variety, the soil in 
which it is grown and the care it has received. Upon light, poor 
soil, and in turf land, fruit will be produced much earlier than in 
a heavier and richer soil. With proper treatment good crops of 
fruit may be expected for at least fifty years, although the aver- 
age bearing age of the orchards of the country is probably much 
less. 

Odd- year Bearing. — In most orchards large crops of fruit 
are produced only upon alternate years. In northern latitudes 
the larger crop is borne upon the even year. The cause may be 
climatic, as severe frosts when the fruit has set or is a little past 
the blossoming stage. This was illustrated in 1884 in many sec- 
tions of New England, by a frost the night of June 30th. Upon 
eastern and southern slopes the petals of the blossoms had fallen, 
and the fruit was in many cases from one-fourth to one-half of an 
inch in diameter, and was destroyed; while upon the western and 
northern slopes, the petals had not fallen and the fruit was unin- 
jured. Those sections where the fruit was destroyed by frost at 
that time, now promise a large crop; while the trees that fruited 
in 1884 are fruitless in 1885. Over-bearing one season may 
result in the exhaustion of the tree, so that it takes one year for 
it to recover its strength to produce another crop. Drouth for a 
succession of years may also bring about the same condition, as 
may also the depredations of the canker worm and other insects. 
This condition may be corrected: 

1. By removing a part or all of the fruit the bearing year soon 
after setting. One operation is often successful, if thoroughly 
done, but sometimes it must be repeated. It should be practiced 
upon young trees until the habit desired has become fixed. 



REGRAFTING OLD TREES. 



23 



2. By manuring the trees the bearing year with bone and pot- 
ash, which has a tendency to produce fruit buds; or by using 
nitrogenous manures the unfruitful year, which will produce a 
large growth of wood at the expense of the fruit buds. 

3. Seeding down to grass the bearing year might produce the 
same result, but there would be danger that the crop of fruit 
and the crop of grass taken from the ground the same year, 
might result in too great a check upon the growth of the tree. 

4. Plowing an orchard in turf the unfruitful year would also 
produce the desired change. 

By the judicious use of the above methods the fruit grower 
may control very largely the bearing year of his fruit trees, and 
be able to produce fruit when it will bring the highest price. 

Re-grafting Old Trees. — Upon many farms and in many 
orchards are often found healthy, vigorous trees that pro- 
duce fruit of little value. Such trees may be grafted with any 
more desirable variety, and in a few years will produce valuable 
fruit. The kind of grafting to be employed is called cleft-graft- 
ing (Fig. 24). It consists in first cutting off as many branches, 
from two to three inches in diameter (which are called stocks), as 
are needed to make a full head, if the whole top is to be grafted. 
This number will vary from ten to perhaps fifty branches, accord- 
ing to the size of the tree. After all the stocks have been cut 
off, they are to be pared smooth. 
Then, beginning with the highest, 
each stock is split with the blade of 
the grafting-hook, Fig. 19, a. The 
Fig. 19. hook, c, is to hang the tool by when 

not in use. The blade is now driven out by a blow upon the head 
of the wedge b, and the wedge driven into the cleft (Fig. 20), to 
keep it open until the cion is 
prepared and inserted. The 
cion, Fig. 21, a piece of ma- 
ture wood of last season's 
growth, from three to four 
inches long, with from three 
to five buds upon it, is then 
cut wedge-shaped in two ways, 
as is shown in Fig. 21 ; a cross- 
section of the wedge-shaped 
cion is shown at Fig. 22. The 

cion must be cut with a sharp, Fig. 20. 

thin-bladed knife, with one quick, clean stroke on each side. 

The cion is then inserted into the cleft with the cambium or 
inner bark in close contact with the cambium or inner bark of the 



a 



1 



i 





s tock; the thicker part of the cion at a, Fig 22, being placed out- 



24 



GRAFTING EXPLAINED. 



ward, so that when the wedge in the cleft is withdrawn, the 
pressure of the stock shall be directly upon the 
two cambium regions. A horizontal view of 
vv the completed cleft-graft is represented in Fig. 
23, and a view in perspective in Fig. 24. In 
the above operation the important points to in- 
sure success are: 

1. A clean, smooth cut upon the cion. 

2. The perfect union of the two inner barks 
or cambiun layers. 

3. Rapid work, that the cut parts may not be 
exposed long to the air. 

After the grafts have been put in and the wedge driven out, the 
whole cut surface must be covered with grafting wax, to exclude 
both air and moisture. A very good article may be purchased of 
seedsmen and dealers in nurserymen's supplies, or it may be made 




Fig. 22. 




A I Sca>P1a* 



as follows: Melt together equal parts of rosin, beeswax and tallow; 
or one-half the quantity of good linseed oil in place of the tallow 
may be used. When cool, the mixture should be pulled, to give 
it toughness. In very cool weather it must be put in 
slightly warmed water, to make it work easily; and in 
warm days, it should be taken to the orchard in cold 
water. Two cions are generally put into each cleft, 
when large enough, to insure success; but when growth 
of both lias become certain, one should be cut off. 

In this method of grafting only the branches used 
for clefts are cut away the first season; for, to cut 
them all away, would give the tree too severe a check. 
All suckers that may come out near the cleft during 
the summer should he removed, that the force of growth 
may all go into tin' cion. 

The best time for grafting is just as the buds begin 
to swell, which, for the Apple and pear, is from April 
15th to Mav loth in the latitude of Boston, or between 




Fig. 24. 



TIME TO GRAFT. 25 

the forty-second and forty-third parallels. The plum and cherry 
must be grafted much earlier to be successful, or from April 1st 
to April loth, according to the season. It is often advisable to 
graft only one-half of the tree the first year, and the balance the 
next season, to prevent injury from too severe pruning. 



26 CLASSIFICATION OF VARIETIES. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



VARIETIES OF APPLES. 



NUMBER OF VARIETIES — SELECTION — NEW VARIETIES — CLASSIFI- 
CATION OF VARIETIES — STANDARD SORTS OF SUMMER, FALL 
AND WINTER APPLES — CRAB APPLES — PROMISING NEW KINDS. 

At the present time, there probably are not less than one 
thousand kinds of Apples in cultivation, each possessing some 
marked characteristic that will enable it to claim the name of a 
distinct variety. The variations most commonly found are in 
form, size, color, quality, time of ripening, habit of growth, color 
of shoots, and leaves, and their liability to the attack of insects 
or diseases. Of the numerous varieties that have been described 
in the more extensive works on fruit culture, probably not more 
than ten can be said to be thoroughly hardy, productive and sat- 
isfactory in any one section of the country. In the West many 
varieties succeed that are unprofitable in the East, and vice 
versa. 

The young fruit grower must decide what kinds are best for 
him to plant by consulting his markets, as to what kinds are in 
demand at paying prices; and by consulting his neighbors and 
successful fruit growers, as to what kinds are best adapted to his 
soil, exposure, etc. 

New Varieties. — Few, if any, of the varieties now in cultiva- 
tion may be called perfect; and it is the part of wisdom for the 
grower to try, on a limited scale, a few of the newer and more 
promising kinds or those adapted to special markets or soils, to 
determine if some specialty may not be grown that will be more 
profitable than the common kinds that everybody grows. But 
until special skill is obtained in growing specialties, or until it is 
proven beyond a doubt that a new variety has superior merits, or 
is adapted to a special market, it is best to confine one's main 
effort to the growth of the safe and sure kinds. 

CLASSIFICATION OF VARIETIES. 

For convenience of description and the determination of the 
different kinds, all varieties of Apples are divided in three classes 
as follows: Summer, Autumn, and Winter, although it may be 



SUMMER AND FALL APPLES. 27 

difficult often to say where one class ends and the other begins, 
with many varieties. 

Standard Varieties.— In this list I shall only include a few 
of those varieties that are especially desirable and profitable in a 
large section of our country, and especially in New England and 
the Northern Middle States. For a more extended description of 
varieties I would refer the reader to that valuable and complete 
work, "Downing's Fruits and Fruit Trees of America," and the 
descriptive catalogues of many leading and reliable nurserymen, 

SUMMER APPLES. 

Early Harvest. — This is a very early yellow Apple, of medium 
size and fair quality. It reaches its greatest perfection upon a 
deep, rich and moist soil, and to be profitable the fruit must be 
freely thinned. It should be carefully picked as soon as fully 
grown, and taken to the market before it begins to mellow, as in 
that condition almost every touch will leave a brown mark upon 
the skin, which injures its sale very much. It is valuable for 
dessert or for cooking, and is in season in July and August. 

Red Astrachan. — A large, flattened, red Apple, of Russian origin. 
The flesh is very white, crisp and tender, and cooks white ; but is 
rather acid for table use. Tree hardy and productive ; August. 

Williams' Favorite. — This Apple is, for the table, what the Red 
Astrachan is for cooking and ripens a little later. It is a large, 
oblong, conical Apple, of brilliant color, with a mild, sub-acid, 
aromatic flavor, and veined, yellowish flesh. For the most profit, 
the fruit must be thinned while small, and at ripening be picked 
from the tree as it colors; for if picked while green, it fails to 
color up well. The tree is vigorous, open in growth and pro- 
ductive; August. 

Sweet Bough. — A large, pale yellow Apple, sweet, juicy and 
good; valuable for home consumption. Sweet Apples are not 
generally in good demand in most markets, except in limited 
quantities. 

FALL APPLES. 

Oldenburg (formerly called Duchess of Oldenburg). — Of 
Russian origin; fruit large, roundish, striped yellow and red; 
valuable for table or cooking ; generally a profitable variety ; tree 
productive and bears early. 

Gravenstein. — Another valuable Russian Apple of large size, 
somewhat flattened; yellow, nearly covered with stripes and 
splashes of light red. The flesh is crisp, juicy and of the best 
quality. The tree is remarkable for its vigor and productiveness. 
It is one of the most desirable and profitable of fall Apples ; 
September to November. 

Maiden's Blush. — Perhaps the handsomest Apple in cultivation ; 
of medium size and nearly round ; skin of light lemon color, with 
a shade of crimson often covering one-half the Apple on the ex- 



28 WINTER VARIETIES. 

posed side. The flesh is white, crisp, juicy, but rather acid for 
table use ; tree vigorous and productive upon good soil ; September 
and October. 

Pumpkin Sweet. — A very large sweet Apple, oblate in form, with 
more or less russet over the whole surface. In quality rather 
coarse, but sweet and cooks well. Tree remarkable for its vigor 
and moderately productive; September and October. 

Fall Pippin. — A large Apple somewhat resembling the Rhode 
Island Greening, but large, with a white flesh and often with some 
blush upon the exposed side. Tree vigorous and moderately 
productive; valuable, especially for cooking; September to 
December. 

WINTER APPLES. 

Baldwin, — A bright red Apple of medium to large size, of fair 
quality and a good keeper. Tree vigorous, productive and perhaps 
more profitable than any other variety for the general market and 
for shipping. Probably more trees of this variety have been 
planted in the Northeastern and North Middle States in the past 
five years than of all other kinds together. 

Ben Davis. — A large red or striped, late-keeping Apple ; oblong 
or slightly conical in form, and of fair quality. It originated in 
the West, and will probably prove valuable in this section. 

Fameuse (or Snow Apple). — Fruit of medium size, of deep red 
color, and with a remarkably white flesh; very juicy, crisp and of 
the finest quality; tree vigorous and productive. It is a valuable 
dessert apple, and when grown upon rich soil and the fruit 
thinned, is of good size and profitable. 

King. — A very large, red, striped Apple, of good quality; tree_ 
vigorous and productive. Profitable in New York state, but not 
generally tested in New England. 

Lady's Sweet. — One of the best winter sweet Apples ; of large 
size, roundish, conical Jn form and nearly covered with red; 
sweet, crisp, tender and keeping till May. Tree moderate in 
growth, but productive. 

Mother. — One of the finest dessert Apples; of large size, oblong, 
conical, with a very yellow, spicy flesh; tree moderately vigorous 
and productive; November to January. 

Nonsuch. — A large, oblong or conical early winter Apple, of 
fine sub-acid flayer, Tree moderately vigorous and remarkably 
productive; a valuable dessert and market fruit. 

Rhode Island Greening. — Everywhere known as a very good 
early winter Apple, succeeding almost everywhere; excellent both 
for cooking aiid dessert. Tree rather spreading in form, vigorous 
and productive. 

Roxbwy Russet. — A very acid, nearly round, russet Apple, 
valued especially for its late-keeping qualities. Tree vigorous 
au'l moderately productive; requires a deep, rich, moist soil. 



CRAB APPLES. 



29 



Hyslop. — Very large, deep crimson, and of fair quality; very 
hardy, vigorous and productive. 

Transcendent. — A very large variety of the Siberian crab; 
yellow and red in color and of good quality. The tree is remark- 
able for its great vigor; moderately productive. 

Montreal Beauty. — Very large ; bright yellow shaded with red ; 
of fair quality; tree vigorous and productive. 

Siberian Red and Yellow. — Old varieties, hardly superseded by 
the new sorts in quality and productiveness. 

ADDITIONAL VARIETIES. 



AUTUMN. 



Benoni, 

Early Strawberry, 
Golden Sweet, 
Summer Rose. 



Alexander, 

Porter, 

Chenango Strawberry. 



Cooper's Market, 
Fallawater, 
Grimes' Golden, 
Lady Apple, 
Tolman's Sweet, 
Danver's Sweet. 



NEW AND PROMISING VARIETIES. 



Haas, 

Sutton Beauty, 



Red Bietigheimer, 
Wealthy, 



Red Russet, 
Tufts' Baldwin. 



30 HARVESTING APPLES. 



CHAPTER IX. 



GATHERING AND STORING APPLES. 

GATHERING SHAKING . OFF PICKING LADDERS ASSORTING 

PACKING KEEPING COLD STORAGE GENERAL REMARKS. 

Gathering. — Summer and autumn Apples, if for market, 
should be picked and sent to market as soon as mature, on ac- 
count of their perishable nature. Yellow and green varieties 
require greater care in picking and packing than the colored sorts, 
as every bruise results in a brown mark that injures their sale. 
For cooking purposes, all the fruit upon a tree may be picked at 
once ; but for table use or to supply fruit stands, some varieties 
must be picked only as they color upon the tree. Such varieties 
as the Gravenstein and Fameuse are often very profitable if kept 
in cold storage until December, when they bring very high prices. 
As a rule, the sooner Summer or Autumn Apples are in the mar- 
ket the more profitable they are to the grower. 

Winter Apples should not be picked until fully grown, but 
should be secured before severe freezing weather takes place, 
and always before the ripening or mellowing process begins, to 
have them keep well. I think it a pretty well settled question 
that Apples picked early in autumn,?, e., on or before October first, 
will keep longer than those picked after October twentieth, al- 
though they will not be of v as good quality nor as large. 

No Apples — Summer, Autumn or Winter — should ever be 
shaken from the tree, as not one in ten thus gathered will fail to 
receive some injury. The fruit should be picked by hand into 
baskets suspended by hooks upon the ladder or branches ; or in a 
bag suspended over the shoulder, with the mouth open 
in front; or by means of the hand pickers shown in 
Fins. 25 and 26. For getting into the tops of tall trees, 
the long ladder is indis- 
pensable. An improved . 
form is shown in Fig. 27; 
the sides are drawn to- Fi S- 26. 

gether at the end so that the point may be thrust 
in among the brandies without the ends catching, as 
with the common ladder. An extension ladder, made 
so as to fold over and form a supporting or step-ladder 
Fig. 26. (-^S* 28), is very convenient for gathering the fruit 





PACKING FOR MARKET. 31 

upon the lower branches, and also in the top. The ordinary 
step-ladders are also very serviceable. 

Assorting. — After picking the fruit, it should be put into 
piles of eight to ten bushels each under the trees, or into barrels 
A and taken to the barn or shed floor, and should be allowed 
| \ to undergo the sweating or curing process for several days. 
J Some growers pick, assort, and pack the fruit at once in the 
J orchard. If allowed to stand several days in a cool place 
-I before heading up, this may not be an objec- 
— tionable practice ; but if the head is put in 
at once, the fruit will not generally keep as 
well as if longer exposed to the air after 
picking. 

The Apples should be sorted into two 
kinds, the No. 1, or firsts, and No. 2, or sec- 
onds. This is absolutely necessary for suc- 
cess. The No. 1 fruit if nicely put up, will 
Fig. 27. often bring more in the market than if both Fig. 28. 

kinds were sold together, for it only requires a very few poor 
specimens in a barrel to injure the sale of the entire lot. The 
No. 1 fruit should be large, fair, and free from worm-holes. 
Some attention should be given to evenness in the size of the fruit 
in each barrel or lot. 

Packing. — For shipping to Europe, or sending to any distant 
market, there is no package equal to the common, clean flour 
barrel. The full-sized barrel, holding two and a half bushels, is 
more satisfactory to all parties than the small "pony" or two- 
bushel barrel. Before the head is put in, the barrel must be 
shaken from side to side, to settle the fruit as much as possible. 
Then pack evenly on top, one or two inches higher than the top 
of the staves, and the head is then pressed in place by means of a 
screw-press; or, better, by the simple lever-press, illustrated by 
Fig. 30, Page 35. The hoops are now driven in place, and the 
head nailed firmly. Packed in this way, the barrels may be 
tumbled about to the entire satisfaction of the worst kind of 
baggage-smasher and not be injured. In packing for shipping to 
Europe, the bottom layer is faced, so that when this head is taken 
out (and the barrel is opened at this end when offered for sale), 
the Apples will present an attractive appearance. Honest pack- 
ing throughout the barrel will be found the most profitable in the 
long run. 

Keeping Fruit. — The best condition for the preservation of 
fruit is a rather moist atmosphere, with the temperature kept as 
near to the freezing point as possible. The ordinary winter fruit 
is commonly kept in fair condition until the middle of March, or 
sometimes later, at a much higher temperature, in the common 
cellar. 

Perhaps the best way to keep winter fruit, with the ordinary 
facilities of the farm, is to put it in ordinary barrels with the 
heads out ; or, in large shallow boxes, holding from three to five 



32 FKUIT IN COLD STORAGE. 

bushels, after the sweating process has been gone through with; 
placing the boxes or barrels in a shed on the north side of another 
building that can be opened at night and closed during the day; 
or into a cool, airy cellar that can be opened and closed in the 
same way. If packed in barrels, only one tier can well be 
arranged in the room, except by putting rails or narrow boards 
across the tops of the first tier of barrels, but in boxes they may 
be arranged as in Fig. 29, in several tiers, so that circulation of 
air may be obtained over the fruit. In a dry place the barrel has 






iu ■■' fr i m n in r — ■ ■ t)rt«ir>r a — g — a— ma n — » 



Fig. 29. 

the advantage that the fruit is not exposed as much to the air; 
but in a moist place, unless the temperature is kept very low, the 
fruit will decay much more rapidly than if in boxes. 

By closing the building or cellar during the day time, and open- 
ing upon cool nights, the fruit room may be kept much below the 
average outside temperature. If the fruit begins to decay, it 
should be attended to at once and be carefully assorted, as a 
single decaying specimen very soon spreads decay to the others. 

Cold Storage. — To preserve any fruit much beyond its natural 
time of ripening requires special appliances. Cold storage houses 
are now much used by shippers and fruit dealers. A very simple 
and serviceable cold storage house may be constructed at a small 
expense in the following manner: Select a place where the soil is 
light and dry, and where natural surface drainage will carry the 
water from the roof readily in all directions; and upon a brick or 
stone foundation erect a building just like a common ice house, 
Avith walls two feet thick. Between the boards upon the walls 
till in with spent" tan, sawdust or machine shavings, and cover the 
floor overhead with one or two feet of the same material. Double 
doors should be provided at each end, and also ventilators at the 
top, with double covers. The fruit room may be a lean-to against 
the wall of some other building, thus saving the construction of 
one wall. The temperature is kept low by opening during cool 
i ii glits and closing during the day; or, if very low temperature is 
required, ice must be introduced upon the floor above. In that 
<;is(>, the floor must be made water-tight, and means provided for 
carrying off the water from the melting ice. During the winter 
no heat will be required except in very severe weather, when the 
introduction of a small stove, with a tile chimney passing through 
one of the ventilators, maybe necessary. Thermometers must be 
kept at all times, both inside and out, for constant consultation. 

In all the operations of gathering, packing, sorting, keeping 
and marketing of fruit, success must depend upon the vigilance 
and good judgment of the owner. A single hour in severe weather, 
or a day or two with to<; high temperature, will often ruin the 
entire producl of a year's lahor. 



EXTENT OF THE EXPORT TRADE. 33 



CHAPTER X. 



MARKETING THE APPLE. 

LOCAL MARKETS REPUTATION — EXPORTING APPLES EXTENT OF 

OUR FOREIGN TRADE — PACKING FOR EXPORT — HOW TO EX- 
PORT APPLES — EVAPORATING FRUIT. 

By far the larger quantity of the fruit grown in this country is 
sold in local markets ; and the man who has the largest quantity 
and the best fruit, can command the best patronage. It requires 
but a few years to gain a reputation for the production of good 
or poor fruit, and this reputation generally determines the question 
of profit or loss in fruit culture. All the fruit possible should be 
sold in the local markets, as it saves the commission of the 
middle-man to the producer or consumer, which is a clear gain to 
the community. 

It often happens, however, that the crop in one locality is much 
larger than can be consumed, and shipping becomes a necessity, 
in order to keep up the price above the cost of production. 
Shipping to Europe has become a very extensive business within 
the past ten years, as is shown by the following summary taken 
from the New England Homestead of June 6, 1885: 

The season for exporting- Apples from America to England opened 
August 16, 1884, and closed May 16, 1885, being a period of 39 weeks. 
Last year the season closed in January, owing to the short crop in this 
country. The exports for the past five years compare as follows : 



SEASON. 






NO. BBLS. 


1884-5, 






787,785 


1883-4, 






81,552 


1882-3, 






3,395,594 


1881-2, 






239,252 


1880-1, 






1,328,806 


TOTAL SHIPMENTS 


FROM 


TOTAL RECEIPTS AT 


Boston, 


309,806 


Liverpool, 


512,213 


New York, 


256,332 


London, 


117,947 


Portland, 


91,483 


Glasgow, 


141,035 


Montreal, 


85,479 


Hull, 


2,224 


Halifax, 


36,073 


Other ports, 


14,346 


Annapolis, 


8,612 







34 PRICES IN ENGLAND. 

BOSTON SHIPMENTS WERE DISTRIBUTED AS FOLLOWS: 



To Liverpool? 


256,624 


To West Hartlepool, 


841 


" Glasgow, 
" London, 


19,969 


" Christiana, 


375 


29,813 


" Bergen, 


130 


" Hull, 


1,944 


" Gotten burg, 


10 






" Antwerp, 


100 



The average weekly shipments from October 1, to December 30, were 
15,280 barrels from Boston and 13,290 barrels from New York; largest 
weekly shipments, 28,286 barrels and 21,498 barrels respectively. Sixty 
per cent of the shipments to Liverpool were carried by the Warren line 
of steamers, the rest being equally divided between the Leyland and 
Cunard lines. The Allan line carried 83 per cent of the Glasgow ship- 
ments, the rest going by the Anchor line. Of the shipments to London 
32 per cent went via Liverpool, the Furness line carrying the rest. 

Extreme prices were paid for extra Newtown Pippins and other early 
fall Apples. The English Apple crop was short and the demand active 
f or o ur fruit. As the magnitude of our 1884 crop became apparent, it 
was hurried over to Liverpool, causing something of a glut in October. 
Lower prices were realized in December because of the large supply 
received too late for the holiday trade. Some of the shipments in 
February and March were badly frosted and landed in poor condition. 

The following statement, compiled from The Homestead's special 
reports of the Boston, New York and Liverpool Apple markets, shows 
the average price paid, per barrel for "extra fall "Apples at each 
market in September and for "No. 1 prime Baldwins" during the 
ensuing months : 





At 


At New 


Av. of 


At Liv- 


Excess. 




Boston. 


York. 


both. 


erpool. 




September, 


$1.46 


$1.65 


$1.50 


$4.50 


$3.00 


October, 


1.46 


1.45 


1.45 


3.32 


1.87 


November, 


1.90 


1.93 


1.91 


5.81 


3.90 


December, 


1.56 


1.63 


1.54 


3.41 


1.87 


January, 


1.82 


1.72 


1.77 


4.01 


2.24 


February, 


2.21 


2.81 


2.51 


3.75 


1.24 


March, 


2,21 


2.15 


2.18 


2.58 


.60 


April, 


2.74 


3.62 


3.1S 


4.26 


1.08 



Average, ' 1.92 2.12 2.00 3.95 1.95 

Most of the Apples exported were bought up by speculators for $1 to 
.'Si.'--"' in the country, and cost 15 to 35c. per barrel to get on shipboard. 
Freights from Boston to Liverpool have been two to three shillings per 
i (arid, averaging about two shillings six pence, or 60c. The brokers 
who handle the sale of the goods charge 5 per cent commission on the 
gross amount of the sales, or 20c. per barrel on a shipment that sells for 
an average of $4 per barrel. Probably $1.60 per barrel will represent 
the average eost to speculators of Apples on shipboard during the past 
season. Add 60c. for freight and 20c. for commission, and the middle- 
man has $2.40 to deduct from the price received in Liverpool. It 
appears Erom our comparative statement above that the average price 
has been $3.95 per barrel in Liverpool, which leaves a profit to the 
middleman of $1.55 per barrel — more than the producer received. To 
be on the safe side, suppose we call this margin only $1 per barrel and 
allow $87,785 for shipments that resulted in loss, for shrinkage, etc., 
then on the total exports of 7s ( ,78~> barrels it will be seen that the 
middlemen have made an even $700,000. 

Now if farmers had followed the simple directions for placing Apples 
• >n the Liverpool market, which The Homestead gave in August 
last, they could have saved the larger portion of this amount. We 



PREPARATION FOR EXPORT. 35 

know several who did follow our directions and realized from 50c. to 
$1.25 per barrel more for their crop than the local buyer offered. 
- I also append a description of the best method of preparing 
the fruit for shipping, taken from Herbert Myrick's valuable 
work, "Money Crops; How to Grow and How to Sell Them," 
published bj the Phelps Publishing Company, Springfield, Mass ; 
price 50 cents: 

What we wish to emphasize here is the proper preparation for market 
and the marketing- of this great money crop. Careful sorting into 
various grades of quality and honest packing are essential to the lasting 
success of any brand — for we assume that every large orchardist or apple 
packer puts his special brand on every barrel he fills and strives in every 
way to get up a reputation for that brand. In the Liverpool, England, 
aiiction market, which annually consumes from one to three million 
barrels of American fruit, certain brands have become so well known 
for honest packing and uniform good quality as to command one to 
three shillings per barrel above other stock. As Liverpool prices are 
usually high enough to make a handsome return above the New York 
market, and as the foreign demand is constantly increasing, the 
American farmer will not fail to give more attention to this profitable 
crop. Red Baldwins are most popular in England, those from Nova 
Scotia standing first, Canada second and America third, this classifica- 
tion being due to method of packing largely.^ The plan pursued by 
the most successful Nova Scotia fruit growers is this : 

Take the hardwood barrel under the tree for convenience, pick the 
Apples with care, place them in without sorting, and when filled head 
the barrel without pressure. Then wheel it into the fruit house, and let 
it remain there during the sweating or curing process. When ready to 
make a shipment the process of sorting begins. Have a large table in 
the fruit house, and on it empty the barrels, two at a time. Apples can 
be selected much better in this way than if picked from a heap on the 
floor. Aim to select none but perfect Apples, but as those of every 
variety have different degrees of perfection in size, form or color, make 
two classes and mark them accordingly. In packing or filling the 
barrel, the object is to get into the package the largestquantity with 
the least injury to the fruit. Apples are very easily injured by too 
much pressure applied to them in packing, and also by being packed too 

loosely. When the barrel is properly 
filled, instead of putting on the pro- 
per head in the first place and ap- 
plying pressure to it, use a false 
cushion head which will play loosely 
in the barrel. This cushion head is 
lined, a piece of old sacking answer- 
ing well for the lining. Considera- 
ble pressure can be applied to this 
cushion head without injury to the 
fruit. Place this cushion upon the 
Apples, and apply the press (Fig. 30) with a pressure sufficient to get the 
Apples together throughout the barrel. Then remove the false head 
and place the head proper, apply the press and complete the work. In 
marking, use the words "choice" or "medium," as the case may be, 
stenciled in small letters on the barrel, accompanying the name of the 
Apple. Then on each package stencil the name of the packer in full, 
as a guaranty of the uniformity of the package throughout. 

Full and complete instruction as to exporting Apples, so as to 
save to the farmer the enormous profits sometimes made by the 
fruit buyers and exporters, are also given in the work above 
quoted. 




36 THE APPLE BORER. 



CHAPTER XI, 




INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. 

THE ROUND-HEADED BORER FLAT-HEADED BORER WOOLLY 

LOUSE — OYSTER-SHELL BARK LOUSE — TENT CATERPILLAR — 
CANKER WORM APHIS — CODLIN MOTH MAGGOT — CURCULIO. 

The Round-headed Apple-borer (Saperda bivittata) (Harris). 
— This is one of the niost injurious insects to the Apple tree. 
The perfect insect, Fig. 31, a, is a beetle aboxit three-fourths of 
an inch long 1 , with three light-brown and two creamy- white stripes 

1 t upon its wing covers. It flies in the night, 

laying its eggs upon the trunk in crevices 
of the bark, near the ground, in June and 
I** July. The eggs hatch, and the young 
larvae penetrate the bark, feeding upon the 
sapwood for nearly two years; often eating 
a space from one to two inches in diameter, 
Fig. 31, a. an( J m young trees sometimes nearly gird- 

ling them. Its chips are packed behind it, except a few du ring- 
its early stages of working, when, by careful examination of the 
tree, its presence may be discovered. After 
the second year it generally penetrates the - _ -^talfs^. 

heart-wood, sometimes going through young 'lllfe. 

trees; or, in larger ones, making a turn and M^^^^^^^^IaK''* 
coming near the bark, where, it undergoes i^^^^a^^SsjK 
its changes (Fig. 31, b, shows the chrysalis) lj 
and comes out the perfect beetle (Fig. 31, ^^^^^^^^Sssess^ 
n, ) the third year, leaving a clean hole about Fj gi 31; bi 

three-sixteenths of an inch in diameter. 

It may be discovered in the tree by the fine 
chips it exudes while very young, and by the 
bark over the injured part turning dark- 
o ft»* »&? brown, and sometimes cracking. 

Remedy. — The only sure remedy is to ex- 
amine the trees carefully once or twice each 
season, and dig out the borer with a strong, 
pointed knife. 

Tin. Flat-heaped Apple-borer (Chrysobothris femorata).— 
This beetle is much smaller than the last, and moves in the day 




THE WOOLLY LOUSE. 



37 



time. It lays its eggs, not only upon the trunk, but sometimes 
on the main branches. 

The flat-headed larva?, Fig. 32, a, works, for a time, in the sap- 
wood, then makes an upward burrow, and, turning, comes out in 
another place, just under the bark, 
where it undergoes its changes. Fig. 
32, b, shows it in the chrysalis state; 
Fig. 32, d, is the perfect beetle; Fig. 
32, c, the head of the borer, en- 
larged. It is uncertain whether the 
; Flat-headed Apple-borer completes 
its growth and transformation in one 
or two years. 

Remedy. — Its presence may be 
known in the tree in the same way 
as the Round-headed Apple Tree 
Borer, and the same remedy must 
be applied. 

The use of washes upon the trunk 
to prevent insects from depositing 
their eggs is of uncertain value. 
Perhaps the best of these is a solu- 
tion of soft soap in which has been 
mixed a teaspoonful of crude petroleum 
tablespoonful of carbolic acid or coal tar. 

The Woolly Louse, or Aphis (Schizoneura lanigera). — Al- 
though commonly known as the root louse, and more generally 
found upon the roots of the Apple, it often causes much injury to 
the branches. It is a small insect (Fig. 33), about one-sixteenth 




12, a, b,c.d. 
to the gallon or 




^Spg 



Fig. 33 



to one-eighth of an inch long, and more or less covered with a 
cottony or nearly white substance, whence comes its common 
name. It attacks the branches in patches, sucking their juices, 
and causing black, canker-like places, which spread, often destroy- 
ing the limbs. 



38 THE TENT CATERPILLAR. 

Remedy. — The application, with a stiff brush, of the solution of 
soft soap, recommended above, will probably effectually destroy 
them. 

The Oyster-shell Bark-louse (Aspidiotus conchiformis). — 
This insect, shown in large numbers in Fig. 34, is injurious, by 




Fig. 34. 

sucking the juices of the branches of both young and old trees. 
It is most common among trees weak in growth. 

Remedy. — It may be destroyed by brushing the branches over 
lightly with pure linseed oil, or with the solution of soap. 

The Tent Caterpillar (Clisiucampa Americana) . — This insect, 
so familiar to every one in its larva state, is illustrated, in all its 
forms by Figs. 35 to 37. Fig. 35 shows the male fly, Fig. 36 the 




female, and Fig. 37 the development — c, the eggs, a, b, tiie cat- 
terpillars and their nest, d, the cocoon. Its eggs, Fig. 35, c, are 




Fig. 36. 



laid late in the summer around the small twig at the ends of the 
branches, generally from two to three hundred in a cluster. 



THE CANKER WORM. 



39 



Here they remain until the leaves start in the spring, when the 
worms hatch out and feed upon the leaves, and cluster in the 
forks of the branches, as shown in the figure. 

Remedy. — The larvse may he found at home in their nests early 
in the morning, during wet weather, and in the middle of hot, 




Fig. 37. 
sumiy days; when they may be readily removed by drawing the 
web around them and crushing it with the foot. In the winter, 
the clusters of eggs may be found by passing under the tree and 
looking up against the sky; when they may be removed by cutting 
off the twigs with the pruning hook. 

The Canker-worm (Anisoptery vernata)> — Fig. 38 — a male, b 
female. This, in certain sections, is undoubtedly the greatest 




pest the Apple grower has to contend with; yet, knowing its 
habits, if prompt application of well-known remedies are made, 
it may be easily and cheaply prevented from doing harm. 

The female, which has no wings, comes out of the ground 
during warm weather, when there is no frost in the ground, from 
December to May, in our latitude, and lays its eggs in clusters 
upon the bark of the trunk and branches. As soon as the leaves 
begin to unfold, the eggs hatch and the larvse feeds upon the 
foliage, eating all but the midrifs, until the trees appear as if fire 
had run through them. The injury thus caused is such that often 
after a few years the trees gradually die. 

Remedy. — Taking advantage of the habits of the female, which 



4:0 REMEDY FOR CANKER WORMS. 

must crawl up the tree to deposit its eggs, tar or printers' ink is 
applied to the trees after December 1, and kept fresh by renewal 
during warm days, when the females can run; thus the ascending 
insects are caught and destroyed. This is an effectual remedy, 
but requires constant attention from December to May, whenever 
the weather is warm and there is no frost in the ground. 

Another effectual remedy is to encircle the tree with a metallic 
trough in which is placed cheap oil, like crude petroleum. The 
first cost of this remedy is more than the expense of tar, but it 
does not require as constant attention. 

Within the past two or three years the attempt to prevent the 
ascent of the female has been abandoned, in many sections, and 
the larva? are destroyed as soon as they are hatched out, by the 
use of paris green. This is applied in water, at the rate of one 
hundred gallons to one pound of paris green, with the common 
hand or garden pump. This remedy is effectual, and is cheaply 
applied by placing barrels of the mixture upon a low wagon and 
driving among the trees. If the trees are thoroughly sprayed 
and no rain follows for several days, one application is generally 
effectual, but sometimes a second or third syringing is required. 
The principal objection to this remedy is in the danger, to both 
man and animals, in the use of so dangerous a poison. 

A safe and equally as effectual a remedy is found in the Pyrethrum 
or Persian insect powder. If used in the same way as the paris 
green, it will destroy the larva? while young, and will paralyze the 
larger ones so that they will fall at once to the ground. As the 
more mature larvse will attempt to crawl back to the tree, a single 
application only of the band of ink is necessary to catch and 
destroy them. This powder is perfectly harmless to man or ani- 
mals, is as effectual as the paris green, and should be used in 
preference to that deadly arsenical preparation. 

The Apple Aphis or Plant-louse (Aphis mail). — This is a 
small, green fly (Fig- 39) (very similar to the common plant- 




Fig. 39. 



louse which attacks house plants), that often appears m large 
numbers upon the young shoots, injuring them by sucking out 
their juices. It is destroyed by the application of a strong 
solution of whale-oil soap and tobaccd water, or by the application 

<>f the pyictlu-uin powder just at night. 



THE CODLIN MOTH. 



41 



The Codlin Moth (Carpocapsa pomonella). — Fig. 40 is an 
Apple injured by the codlin moth; e, larvae escaping; f, moth at 



ar- 




rest; g, same with its wings spread; d, chrysalis. This is perhaps 
the most injurious insect that attacks the fruit of the Apple. 
It flies at night, and lays its eggs in the calyx or blossom-end of 
the fruit after it reaches a half inch in diameter. The egg 
hatches, and the fruit is destroyed, as shown in the figure. At 
maturity, the worm comes from the Apple and forms its cocoon 
under the bark of the tree, upon boards, fences and other dry 
places. 

Remedy. — Pasturing the orchard with swine or cattle will 
destroy many of the worms that fall with the fruit, while a large 
number of fowls in the orchard will generally attend to all that 
may come out of the Apples before they fall. The cocoons may 



^summ 




also be trapped under bands of straw or cloth put around the 
trunks of the trees, and examined occasionally during the summer. 



42 



APPLE MAGGOT — PLUM WEEVIL. 



A second brood often comes out in the early autumn, which 
attacks the winter fruit. 

The Apple Maggot (Tripetapomonella). — This insect has so 
increased within the past few years as to threaten the total 
destruction of the Apple crop in some sections. The perfect 
insect is a small fly, (Fig. 41, b), resembling, the common house 
fly, but is much smaller. As the Apple approaches maturity, the 
fly lays its eggs in the fruit by puncturing the skin. The larva, 
or maggot, (Fig. 41, a), of which there are often several in one apple, 
make burrows in all directions, rendering the fruit worthless. 

Remedy. — No remedy but the destruction of the infected crop 
by feeding to swine or cattle has been discovered as yet. This 
will be effectual if all the fruit is destroyed as it falls from the 
tree. 

The Plum Weevil, ok Curculio (Conotrachelus nenuphar). — 
Fig. 42 — a, the perfect insect, much enlarged; b, natural size, at 




Fig. 42. 

work upon the plum; c, larvse; d, injured fruit. Until recently, 
it was generally supposed that all the worms found in the Apple 
were the larvse of the codlin moth. My attention was attracted 
two years ago to the large number of Apples falling from the 
trees early in the summer. Upon examination it was found that 
nearly every one bore the crescent-shaped mark of this insect, and 
most of them contained the worms of the plum weevil. In the 
examination of nearly one thousand fallen Apples, only eight or 
ten contained worms that did not bear the marks of this insect. 

Remedy. — The only effectual remedy for this injury to the 
Apple is the same as for the codlin moth and Apple maggot. 

Labels for Fruit Trees. — Apple trees and all fruits should 
be carefully labelled, that the owner may not forget the names of 
the kinds, and also that any subsequent possessor may know with- 
out doubt what varieties he is growing. Most of the confusion in 



LABELS FOR FRUIT TREES. 43 

names of fruits and plants results from forgetfulness and guess 
work. 

The best label that can be used is the triangular zinc, six to 
eight inches long, one inch wide at one end and tapering to a 
point at the other, and written upon with a common lead pencil. 
A name written upon such a piece of zinc, slightly corroded (old 
zinc is better than new) will last a lifetime and increase in dis- 
tinctness from year to year. 

The label is attached to the tree by winding the small end 
around a small branch. As the branch increases in size the zinc 
uncoils so as not to cut into it, and when the branch becomes too 
large to retain it, the label is attached to a smaller one. Any 
label, however, is liable to become displaced by wind, teams, etc. ; 
and if perfect security is desired, a plan of the orchard or garden 
must be made and the names of the varieties recorded in their 
proper places. As long as the plan is preserved there can be no 
uncertainty as to the location and names of varieties. 



44 THE PEAK — INTRODUCTION. 



CHAPTER XII. 



THE PEAR (pybus communis). 



ITS HEALTHFULNESS — ORIGIN VALUE IMPROVEMENT PROPA- 
GATION — THE NURSERY — THE ORCHARD FORMING THE HEAD — 

VARIETIES — HARVESTING — MARKETING PRESERVING INSECT 

PESTS — DISEASES . 

Although not generally considered one of the most healthful of 
fruits, the Pear is, from its peculiar flavor and qualities known as 
melting, buttery, sugary, etc., a fruit much liked by most people; 
eaten in its fully ripe condition and in moderate quantities it is a 
healthful and delicious fruit. 

In its natural and unimproved condition, the fruit was hard and 
composed almost entirely of gritty wood cells, known to botanists 
as sclerogenous cells, and a harsh and astringent juice that was 
anything but digestible, and which led that ancient writer, Pliny, 
to say, "All varieties whatsoever are poor meat unless baked or 
boiled." Until fully ripe, most varieties of Pears have more or 
less of the above qualities, and should be eaten with moderation, 
unless cooked. For preserves no fruit is superior to the Pear. 

Like the apple, the Pear is a native of Middle and Northern 
Europe. It is a tree that sometimes in its most natural condition 
lives to a greater age than the apple, but is much more liable to 
the attack of disease. The Pear stands third in the list of large 
fruits, in the value of its products. The methods of improvement 
are the same with the Pear as with the apple. Perhaps about 
an equal number of good varieties of Pears may be credited to 
improvement by hybridization and selection; while, like the ap- 
ple also, many of the best varieties of Pears are chance seedlings, 
the origin of which no one can tell. 

Propagation. — It is propagated by root-grafts and by budding. 
The seedlings used for stocks are gene rail}* imported from France, 
where they are grown in large quantities and to great perfection. 
Some nurserymen are successful in growing their own seedlings 
from imported seed. The best seed is that obtained from vigor- 
ous, natural seedlings. The seed-bed should be in a rich, warm, 
new soil, rather moist than otherwise. The seedlings are gener- 



PROPAGATION. 45 

ally liable to the attack of the leaf blight that stops their growth 
in July. For this reason, the bed must be made unusually rich 
with an abundance of well-rotted stable manure, and a liberal 
supply of bone and potash. The seedlings should have the same 
treatment as the apple in grafting and when planted for budding. 
The best results are generally obtained from budding, although 
some nurserymen are very successful with root-grafting. For 
the best results, the grafts should be made early in winter, and 
greater care is required in keeping them until spring. 

Nursery. — The soil for the growth of the tree in the nursery 
should be deep, rich, and rather moist, but well underdrained, 
naturally or otherwise, and kept thoroughly cultivated. The 
seedlings and root-grafts are planted in the same way as the ap- 
ple and the same distance apart. At from two to four years from 
budding the trees are ready for transplanting to the orchard. 

The Orchard. — For the best results, land like that described 
for the nursery should be selected. The Pear will not prove 
profitable upon such a great variety of soils as the apple, but 
good fruit may be obtained in limited quantities even in poor soiV 
if an abundance of plant-food is supplied, and mulch provided to 
prevent the escape of moisture. 

The preparation of the land, the tree, and the methods of 
planting are the same as for the apple, to which the reader is 
referred. 

The Pear tree naturally grows in a pyramidal form, and, while 
it sometimes grows as large in diameter as the apple tree, it is 
more compact and requires less distance. Fifteen by twenty feet 
are the best distances, according to the variety and method of 
training. Such varieties as the Seckel, Giffard, Bartlett, etc., 
and other varieties if unpruned at the ends, and most other 
kinds, if kept well headed-in, need not have more than 
the former space, while Clapp's, Boussock, etc., should not 
be planted less than the latter distance. 

Forming the Head. — During the first few years of its growth 
after planting in the orchard, the Pear tree has a tendency to 
growth in only two or three leading shoots. All but one of these 
must be pinched in at once, and the centre one or leader must be 
pinched a little later and be forced to throw out laterals. In the 
formation of the head, the branches should be distributed along 
the leader, as shown in Fig. 13, Page 15. Close attention must 
be given to prevent, by pinching, any branches out-growing the 
leader, or from growing more upon one side than the other. 

In land that must be cultivated, *the head should be formed at 
least five feet high, to enable teams to work readily under the 
branches. 

The Age op Bearing.— The Pear tree may be expected tc 
produce paying crops of fruit from five to eight years from 
planting in the orchard, according to the variety. Unless at- 
tacked by disease it will bear for fifty years and upward. Like 



46 VARIETIES OF PEARS. 

the apple it generally produces fruit only on alternate years, un- 
less the land is kept quite rich. The cause of this habit is the 
same as with the apple, and the remedies the same. 

Varieties. — In form, size, and color of fruit, the Pear does 
not vary as much as the fruit of the apple, but in the color of 
the branches and the leaves and its habit of growth, the variations 
are much greater; so much so, that most varieties may be dis- 
tinguished by the expert upon examination of the tree alone. 
Varieties may be classed as Summer, Autumn and Winter. 

Summer Pears. — These, as a rule, are small in size and very 
perishable. Among the best, in order of ripening, are: 

Osband's. — Small, nearly round ; skin green, changing to yellow 
when ripe, with a brownish cheek; valuable only for home con- 
sumption. 

Giffard. — Medium size ; in form and color like the Bartlett, but 
with more blush upon the exposed side ; tree of rather slender 
growth and moderately productive ; of good quality and one of 
the most profitable early Pears. 

Rostiezer. — Of fine quality; small in size, acute pyriform; in 
color resembling the Seckel ; one of the best in quality, but the 
tree is of very straggling, irregular growth. 

Clapp's. — A very large Pear of fair quality, but has the fault 
of rotting at the core if ripened upon the tree ; obtuse pyriform ; 
yellow, with a brownish red blush upon one half. The tree is 
vigorous and productive, coming early into bearing. The fruit 
must be picked at least two weeks before it would naturally ripen 
upon the tree. 

AUTUMN PEARS. 

Bartlett. — This, among the Pears, is what the Baldwin is among 
the apples, and the Concord among the grapes. The fruit is large, 
of fair quality and never rots at the core. The tree is moderate- 
ly vigorous, and so productive that it is liable to injury by over- 
bearing; a fault that must be remedied by thinning, and by 
giving an abundance of plant food the bearing year. It is in sea- 
son in September. 

Bosc. — A large, light russet Pear, with a large body and long 
neck, to which is attached a long stem; flesh white, juicy, and of 
fine quality. The fruit is so large and heavy that it is liable to 
drop, and the tree should be trained low. It is one of the best 
fall Pears, ripening in October in our latitude. 

Seckel. — Small, of the best quality; obtuse pyriform; light cinna- 
mon russet, with a brownish red blush on the exposed surface. 
To be of good size the fruit must be thinned. The tree is a vig- 
orous and compact grower, and regularly productive, ripening in 
( )ctober. 

Sheldon. — Nearly round, russet, of large size, juicy, sweet and 
good. The tree is moderately vigorous and productive; one of 



HARVESTING AND MARKETING. 47 

the best in cultivation. The color of the fruit is rather against it 
for market, but when it becomes known it brings good prices. It 
is in season from October to November. 

Anjou. — Large, obtuse pyriform; greenish yellow when ripe, 
with a slight blush upon the sunny side ; flesh white, juicy, melt- 
ing and rich; tree vigorous, hardy and moderately productive. 
The fruit is the finest of its season — from November to De- 
cember. 

WINTER PEARS. 

Lawrence. — Medium to large; resembling the Bartlett in form, 
but rather shorter and of a light yellow color; flesh juicy, sweet 
and good; tree moderately vigorous and productive. It is one of 
the best early winter Pears, coming in season in December. 

Dana's Hovey. — A small Pear, resembling the Seckel somewhat 
in color and quality; round or obovate in form. It is perhaps 
the best winter Pear in quality, but its size makes it objectionable 
for market. 

ADDITIONAL VARIETIES OF VALUE. 

STTMMER. AUTUMN. WINTER. 

Bloodgood, Howell, Josephine of Malines, 

Dearborn, Flemish, Easter, 

Tyson, Boussock, Cornice, 

Souvenir du Congres. Clairgeau. Vicar. 

NEW VARIETIES OF PROMISE. 

Frederick Clapp, President Clark. 

Gathering and Ripening. — All varieties of Pears, with one 
or two exceptions, are improved by picking from the tree, from 
one to two weeks before they would naturally soften. Varieties 
like Clapp's and some others that rot at the core, must be picked 
as early as two weeks, while the Bartlett may be allowed to grow 
longer. The longer a variety can remain upon the tree the larger 
they become, as all fruits increase very rapidly in size just before 
the mellowing process begins. 

The best way to ripen the Pear to have it the most highly col- 
ored and of the best quality, is to place them in shallow trays or 
boxes in a dark, cool room. 

Marketing. — The early varieties of this fruit are very perish- 
able and should be marketed as soon as ripe. Clapp's, Bartletts 
and Boscs brought into market a little before their season, by 
picking early and hastening the ripening process in a warm, close 
room, often command a much better price than if sold when the 
main crop naturally comes in. So such varieties as the last two 
autumn kinds and Sheldon, Anjou, etc., if kept a month or two 
in cold storage, sometimes sell at double the price received at the 
natural time of ripening. The grower who is alive to the times 
will soon learn whether he can get a larger income by selling 



48 INSECTS AND DISEASES. 

early or late, and must be prepared to do either as his best judg- 
ment shall dictate. 

Preserving. — Summer and Autumn varieties cannot be pre- 
served much beyond their natural season without considerable 
expense, but late fall and winter kinds may be kept in the same 
maimer as the apple. For shipping to a distant market, the bar- 
rel is the best package, unless the fruit is soft, when they must 
be sent in crates or baskets. For storing and keeping the fruit, 
shallow boxes are much better than the barrel. Until the ripen- 
ing process begins, the fruit should be kept in a cool, airy place, 
as they are less liable to decay than if in a close atmosphere. 

Insect Pests. — All the insects described as injurious to the 
apple, with the exception of the canker-worm, are more or less 
injurious to the Pear, and the same remedies should be applied. 

In addition to the above, are the Pear-tree Psylla {Psylla pyri). 
This is a very minute insect that punctures the branches 
and leaves in May, causing an exudation of juice which attracts 
numerous ants, flies and wasps which feed upon the juices that es- 
cape. The exudation dries and becomes sticky, and the particles 
of dust in the atmosphere adhere to the shoots and leaves, so that 
during the latter part of summer the whole tree has a blackened, 
dirty appearance. A diluted emulsion of kerosene and soft soap 
is an effectual remedy. This is described by Prof. Riley, as fol- 
lows: Take two parts of kerosene and one of soft soap, and 
churn or stir until a kind of butter is produced. This prepara- 
tion may be diluted with ten, twenty or fifty parts of water, 
according to the delicacy of the plant or the insect to be 
destroyed. 

A few other insects are slightly injurious to the Pear, but a 
description is not deemed important in so condensed a work 
as this. 

For a detailed description of all insects injurious to fruits and 
fruit trees, the reader is referred to Saunders' " Insects Injurious 
to Fruits." 

Diseases. — Fire Blight. — This disease is often very destructive 
to the Pear, and its effect is to cause the leaves, shoots, and some- 
times the entire tree — but more often only a portion of it— to 
turn dark brown or black, as if scorched by fire. It always fol- 
lows some cause of weakness, as a late growth in the fall, caused 
by the use of course manure, or late cultivation, when the shoots 
are injured by cold; or after bearing a heavy crop of fruit; or it 
may result from an exhaustion of the soil, or from the unnatural 
growth caused by plowing after the land has been in turf for some 
time; or from seeding down with a grain crop. In almost every 
case that has come under my observation, some reasonable expla- 
nation may be given for its appearance. The disease is of a 
fungoid or algoid nature, and only attacks trees that have become 
weakened in some ivay. 

The only remedy is, first, to cut away the diseased parts as soon 



THE PEAR LEAF BLIGHT. 49 

as the disease appears; and by the use of the proper kind of food 
and cultivation, obtain a healthy growth. If the soil is rich, do 
not cultivate and apply potash; if poor, use potash, fine ground 
bone and some nitrogenous material in the fall or early spring. 

Leaf Blight. — This is a disease that attacks the leaves of young 
seedlings and sometimes of established trees. It is a fungus 
growth, similar to the grape, strawberry and other leaf diseases, 
and is remedied only by good cultivation and proper food. It of- 
ten comes upon the Pear seedlings planted in the nursery in July, 
when, upon the first indication of its presence, budding must begin, 
or the leaves will soon fall off and budding cannot be done at all 
until the following season. 

4 



50 THE PEACH. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



THE PEACH {PRUNUS PERSIC A). 

IMPORTANCE — ORIGIN — PROPAGATION — ORCHARD — FERTILIZA- 
TION — -AGE OF BEARING WINTER PROTECTION THINNING THE 

FRUIT — VARIETIES — GATHERING MARKETING — INSECTS — DIS- 
EASES — ROT. 

Iii importance, as a money crop, the Peach stands second in the 
list of large fruits. It is a healthful and nutritive fruit, when 
perfectly ripe, and liked by all. To reach its best condition, the 
Peach must be ripened upon the tree, but when shipped a long 
distance, it cannot be allowed to ripen before picking. 

Origin. — The Peach is supposed to have originated in Asia, 
from the bitter almond. It has long been cultivated in Southern 
Asia, China, and Southern Europe, and is much esteemed as an 
article of food and luxury. Its successful cultivation has always 
been confined largely to the Southern temperate zone, as the tree 
is naturally tender and liable to injury from sudden climatic 
changes. In favorable locations and under the proper treatment 
it is, however, often a profitable crop even north of the 42d 
parallel. 

Propagation. — It is propagated by budding upon seedlings 
that are grown in the nursery, instead of the seed-bed, as with 
the apple and pear. The seeds that produce the best stocks are 
those from strong, healthy, natural, new-budded seedlings. Most 
of the seed used by nurserymen is obtained from Virginia and 
Tennessee, where natural fruit is largely grown, and where it is 
claimed the disease known as the "yellows" has not made its ap- 
pearance. 

The pits may be planted either in the fall or in the spring. In 
tall planting they should be covered about two inches deep, if the 
soil is hcavv. or three inches if light, in rows four feet apart and 
three or four inches in the row. In spring planting, the pits are 
"bedded" the fall previous; that is, placed in a bed about six or 
eight inches deep in layers first two inches thick of seeds, then 
two inches of soil, and so on until all the pits are put in; making 
the bed from six to ten inches thick. The action of the frost 
cracks the stones so that the kernels will most of them shell out 



BUDDING THE PEACH. 51 

when they begin to germinate in the spring. It sometimes hap- 
pens that the action of the frost is not sufficient to crack the 
stones, when it must be clone by a slight blow with a light ham- 
mer upon the edge of the pit, placed upon a block of wood. The 
kernels should be planted in rows the same distance as for fall 
planting, and be covered one inch deep. The advantage of fall 
planting is that it requires less labor, but many of the pits will 
fail to germinate, and where small quantities are grown this 
method is not to be recommended. In spring planting, every kernel 
will generally germinate and the nursery rows will be more fully 
stocked than if the uncracked pits were planted in the fall. 

The soil best adapted to the growth of good trees is a medium 
sandy or gravelly loam. The fertilizer used should be well de- 
composed stable manure, in moderate quantities, with fine ground 
bone and potash. The land should not be too rich, as, if the 
growth is very rapid and coarse, the trees are liable to injury dur- 
ing the winter. A soil that will produce fifty to seventy-five bush- 
els of corn to the acre is sufficiently rich for Peaches. 

Budding.— The seedlings make a rapid growth and. will be in 
readiness to bud in August. The best time for this work is just 
before the growth is checked by early frosts, or the last of August or 
first of September. The Peach is very easily budded and the 
growth is so rapid at this season that the bands must be cut in a 
week or two from the time of budding or the buds will be injured 
by the cutting in of the bands, or rather by the over-growth of 
the stock. The stocks should be cut off the following spring and 
only the inserted bud allowed to grow, as directed for the apple. 
At one year from cutting of the stock, the trees are in their best 
condition for transplanting, and at this age are better than if older. 
They are divided into No. 1 and No. 2 grades, classed according 
to size. The larger trees are generally those that were budded 
upon the stronger and most vigorous stocks, and consequently are 
most valuable ; although the smaller the tree, as a rule, the less 
loss of roots there will be in digging and in two or three years 
from planting the smaller trees will often equal the larger in size. 
June-budded trees are being advertised very largely by many 
nurserymen. Although small in size, having grown only one sea- 
son from the seed, the roots are much less injured in digging and 
are less checked by removal than larger trees. In cost there is 
little or no advantage either way between the June-budded and 
the No. 1 fall-budded trees. 

The Orchard. — The best soil for the Peach is a warm, sandy 
or gravelly loam, situated upon more or less of an elevation. The 
exposure may be either north, south, east or west, if the land is 
high; but the fruit will be of better quality if the exposure is to 
the south, southeast or southwest. The reason why the Peach 
succeeds better upon high land may be found in the fact that the 
extremes of heat and cold are not as severe, and that the higher 
up we go the earlier and more thoroughly will the wood be ripen- 
ed, and the later will the buds start in the spring. 



52 



PLANTING THE ORCHARD. 



There is, perhaps, less variation in size and form of tree in the 
different kinds of Peaches than with other fruit trees, and the 
distance of planting is more uniform. For unpruned trees (those 
not headed-in), the distance should be eighteen by eighteen, or 
twenty by twenty feet. If the tree is to be kept headed-in, which 
is advisable, ten by fifteen, or twelve and one-half by twelve and 
one-half feet will be sufficient. 

Planting. — The tree should be prepared for planting in the 
same way as the apple, except that it may be advisable to cut off 
all the laterals to allow a new head to form upon a clean stem 
three or four feet high. In pruning up in this way to a "stick," 
care must be taken not to cut off the buds at the base of each 
shoot, as the proper formation of the head depends upon having 
buds well distributed along the main cane. Having the branches 
distributed along the axis, as is illustrated in Fig. 14, Page 15, is 
more important in the case of the Peach than with any other fruit 
tree, as the wood is very brittle and easily broken by the weight 
of fruit. 

Transplanting, training and pruning are the same as described 
for the apple. An annual pruning, however, should be given, 
consisting of cutting back the last season's growth one-half in the 
fall or winter to keep the tree in close, compact form, as is shown 





Fig 43. 



Fig. 44. 



by the dotted line a, b, Fig. 43. This is rendered necessary by 
the natural tendency of the tree to grow only at the ends, pro- 
ducing few or no new laterals each year and resulting in the 
condition illustrated by Fig. 44, unless corrected. 

Cultivation and Manuring. — This subject, as discussed un- 
der head of The Apple, may be applied to the Peach. In the ap- 
plication of manure or fertilizer to any fruit crop, and to those 
especially like the Peach and pear, that are liable to injury from 
cold and other causes, great caution must be used. No tree can 
be expected to produce a large crop of fruit without a liberal 
supply of food. The farmer never expects to get a large or pay- 
ing crop of corn or potatoes from land unless he applies from 



WINTER PROTECTION. 53 

fifteen to fifty dollars' worth of manure or fertilizer; yet many a 
fruit grower will expect to gather crops, many times the value of 
either of the above, without any fertilizer at all. The fruit 
growers who apply to their orchard annually twenty-five dollars' 
worth of fertilizing material, I believe are few in number. In 
the case of a Peach orchard from five to ten years old, this 
amount, or even fifty dollars' worth would not be too large a 
supply to put on to an acre when the trees are to bear a heavy 
crop. As with the apple and pear, manures or fertilizers should 
be applied late iu the fall and early in the spring. While young, 
much care is needed not to force too large a growth of wood. 
For fruit, ground bone and potash is the best fertilizer that can 
be used. 

The growth of the Peach tree in turf land promises to be a 
method by which much of the climatic injury may be avoided. 

Age of Bearing. — Fruit may be expected in paying quantities 
at from three to five years from planting in the orchard. The 
average age of the Peach tree in this section is hard to deter- 
mine, but is not probably over ten years from the time of trans- 
planting, and during this time the average number of crops may 
perhaps be three. 

The greatest obstacle to the successful cultivation of the Peach 
in this latitude, is the destruction of the fruit-buds in cold 
weather, It occurs in seasons when the growth is late, or 
when the buds are started into growth by extremely warm 
weather in December, followed by severe cold. It is claimed 
by many fruit culturists that the fruit-buds will be destroy- 
ed under any conditions when the thermometer indicates 
15° below zero. Little, however, is positively known as to this 
matter, and this claim may be generally the case, but I have 
known buds to be uninjured by a temperature of 18° below zero, 
and also to be destroyed by a temperature not lower than 18° 
above zero, Fahrenheit. 

Winter Protection. — This uncertainty of the Peach crop 
leads us to consider if some means may not be employed by 
which the crop may be made secure. 

One method which I successfully adopted a few years since, is that 
of laying down the trees. Two young trees about four years old 
were taken for the experiment. The roots upon one side were loosen- 
ed and cut off at about one foot from the tree. The soil was 
then loosened upon the other side, and the trees bent down and held 
in place by a heavy post. Over the whole was thrown a few bun- 
dles of corn stover. The roots that stood out of the ground 
when the tree lay prostrate were covered with a foot or two of 
soil. In this state the trees passed the winter in safety, and in 
the spring were righted up and the soil pressed carefully and 
firmly about the roots. The result was a fair crop of Peaches 
when all other buds were destroyed. This seems a practicable 
method, and if the roots are made to grow more largely upon ono 



54 THINNING THE FRUIT. 

side of the tree than the other by an occasional root-pruning, 
there can be little difficulty in bending over even large trees, and 
little injury need result to the tree. 

Standing up or tying pine boughs or corn stover in among the 
branches has been also suggested, and might be easily and cheap- 
ly accomplished if the trees are trained low. The high price 
which thoroughly ripe native fruit commands, will warrant con- 
siderable expense in the application of any system that will in- 
sure a crop every season. 

Thinning the Fruit. — Of all the large fruits cultivated per- 
haps none are more benefited by thinning than the Peach. The 
tree is very likely, when it does produce a crop, to set so many 
blossoms that the tree will be almost certain to be injured in its 
attempt to ripen the crop. The annual pruning or shortening-in 
is beneficial by removing nearly one-half of the fruit buds, but 
it will be found that one-half of those remaining may generally 
be removed. When the fruit has reached from one-fourth to 
one-half inch in diameter, the trees should be examined and all 
imperfect specimens removed. Only one good specimen should 
be left on the short spurs of from one to five inches in length; 
and on the longer branches, only one to each five inches of wood. 
The quantity of fruit will not be diminished, on account of the in- 
creased size of each specimen, while the number of seeds matured 
will be lessened. Now the injury to the tree results from its ef- 
fort in ripening a large number of seeds, rather than in the pulp 
that surrounds them, hence the wisdom of thinning the fruit on 
this account alone. 

Classification. — The fruit is divided into two great classes, 
the " white fleshed " and " yellow fleshed" varieties. These may 
be again divided into "freestones" and "clingstones," — those in 
which the stone does not adhere to the pulp, and varieties in 
which the flesh clings to the stone. 

The varieties of both classes that are most desirable in this 
latitude, are given in the order of ripening: 

YELLOW FLESHED VARIETIES. 

Crawford's Early. — A fine, large Peach, of good quality, ripen- 
ing early in September. The tree is very vigorous and produc- 
tive, but not quite as hardy as some of the white-fleshed varie- 
1 ii's. Et brings the highest price in the market, and is a free- 
stone variety. 

Crawford's Late. — Very similar to the above, but perhaps a 
little Larger and more hardy; ripens the last of September; free- 
stone. 

WHITE FLESHED VARIETIES. 

Waterloo. — Medium to large, of fair quality, and ripening 
al.oul the first of August; clingstone. 

Early /Urns. — Medium to large; creamy white in color, and 
of good quality; August. 



VARIETIES OF THE PEACH. 55 

Mountain Rose. — Medium to large; round, with dark red 
cheek; flesh white, juicy and good; freestone; last of August or 
early September. 

Oldmixon. — Medium to large; greenish white, with red cheek; 
flesh white, juicy and rich. The tree is hardy and productive, 
ripening its fruit in the middle of September. This is one of the 
most hardy and productive varieties. 

Stump.— Resembles the last, but ripens much later and is per- 
haps equally desirable. The tree is very hardy and productive. 

ADDITIONAL VARIETIES. 

Schumaker, Reeves' Favorite, Excelsior, 

Pratt, Wheatland, Wager. 

Gathering. — -Unlike the apple and pear, the Peach reaches its 
highest excellence only when ripened upon the tree. This fact 
makes it, in its best condition, a local fruit and insures paying 
prices to the grower in Northern sections who will allow his fruit 
to ripen fully and market it carefully. It is true that large 
quantities are shipped from the sections where the fruit reaches 
perhaps greater perfection than in Northern latitudes, but on ac- 
count of the necessity of its being picked while yet hard, it is sent 
to market before it reaches its best condition and is, in quality, 
much inferior to that grown with us, where our fruit is allowed 
to ripen upon the tree. 

Marketing. — In the South the Peach is gathered, often before 
fully grown, and packed in baskets or in crates of about one-half 
bushel. For the local market, to bring the highest price, it must 
become almost mellow before being picked, and should be packed 
in small baskets or boxes a single layer in depth, or at least, not 
more than two layers deep, and taken to market in such a way as 
not to roll or rattle about. In this way choice Peaches will often 
command from five to eight dollars per bushel. 

Insects. — The only insect that is seriously injurious to the 
Peach is known as the 

Peach Borer (JEgeria exitiosa) — Shown by the sketches — Fig. 45, 
male ; Fig. 46, female, and Fig. 47, larva. This insect lays its 
eggs at various times from June to September, upon the trunk, 
generally near the ground, and the larvre may be found in all 




Fig. 45. 



56 



THE PEACH BOJEtER. 



stages of development during 
the summer. Their pres- 
ence may be known by the 
exudation of gum which al- 
ways takes place from a fresh 
injury, containing the chips 
or droppings of the larvae. 
The eggs hatch, and the lar- 
vae penetrate the bark, and 
feed upon the inner bark and 
sap-wood, often eating a space 
the size of a silver dollar, as is shown in Fig. 48, which repre- 
sents the trunk of a tree with the bark cut away, showing two 
borers, their burrows and the piles of gum and chips that have 




Fig. 




Fig. 48. 
exuded from the injured part. A single borer will often girdle a 
small tree, while in large trees are often found from five to ten 
borers. They generally confine their work to the trunk near the 
ground, but are sometimes found in the forks of the branches, 
where their injury often results in the tree splitting down when 
loaded with fruit. 

The presence of the Peach borer is easily known by the chips 
in the exuding gum, and it is easily destroyed with a strong, 
pointed knife. The trees should be examined in June and 
August. No application to the surface is known to be wholly 
effectual, although, perhaps, the soap and tar or kerosene mixture 
may be of some value. In addition to any mixture applied to the 
trunk, careful examination should be made with the knife, as 
recommended above. 

Diseases. — The only disease that seriously affects the Peach is 
known as " The Yellows." It is known in almost all sections 
of the country. In its worst form, the trees have a yellowish, 
sickly appearance, with small, wiry shoots coming out upon the 
large branches, as is shown at a, a, Fig. 44. The fruit ripens 
prematurely, is small, high colored, and often very bitter. 

The exact nature of the disease is not fully understood. It is 



REMEDY FOR THE BORER. 57 

certain, however, that there is present at certain stages bacterial 
or algoid ferments ; but whether they are the cause of the disease, 
or simply accompany a weak state of the tree, or the natural 
decomposition of dead matter, is only conjecture. I am led to 
believe, after much careful study of the subject, that the latter is 
nearer the truth than the former, and that the trees are destroyed, 
in part or in whole, by the action of frost when the tissue has 
become weakened and imperfectly developed, from some or all 
of the many causes of weakness, — like exhaustion from over- 
bearing, exhaustion of the soil, injury from borers, or a very late 
and imperfect growth caused by the use of too much nitrogenous 
manure, or by late cultivation. The injury is always first to the 
top, the root remaining alive often for a year or more after the 
top is dead ; showing that the cause is the result of influences upon 
the top when in a certain condition. Trees that are exhausted, 
injured or weakened from any cause, have the same yellowish 
appearance as when attacked by the " yellows." 

Remedy. — If the disease is not too far advanced, the trees may 
be restored to their natural color and vigor by the use of complete 
and abundance of plant food. For a single tree the following 
preparation, put on in the fall or early in the spring, is a good 
remedy: 

Five pounds of pure ground bone. 

Three pounds of muriate of potash. 

One or two pounds of nitrate of soda or nitrate of potash. 

In place of the ground bone and nitrate, from five to ten large 
shovelfuls of well decomposed stable manure may be used with 
nearly equal results. A mulch applied to the roots during the 
summer months will have the tendency to protect the roots from 
the effect of drouth and extreme heat, but it should be removed 
the last of August or first of September, that a late growth may 
not be caused by it. After freezing weather begins, the mulch 
may be applied again as a protection from injury to the roots from 
cold, and to prevent the starting of the buds during the winter. 

In the growth of the Peach, the cultivator should never let his 
trees become exhausted and weak from injury of insects. Neither 
should he force a late growth by the use of nitrogenous manures 
during the summer, or by late cultivation. By constant attention 
to their wants, keep the trees in a healthy condition. Then I 
believe he may keep them in a productive condition for twenty, 
twenty-five or even fifty years. 

Rotting of the Fruit. — In many sections, and especially 
during warm , wet seasons, the fruit (particularly of the early 
varieties) is very liable to rot, often destroying the entire crop. 
This trouble is mostly confined, however, to trees that are over- 
loaded with fruit or that are in a poor soil. 

Remedy. — Thinning the fruit will often prevent this injury, and 
the application of an abundance of plant food early in the season, 
when the trees are in blossom, will enable them to overcome the 
attacks of the fungus that causes the rot. 



THE PLUM. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



THE PLUM (PRUNUS DOMESTIC US). 

ORIGIN — PROPAGATION — NURSERY TREATMENT ORCHARD MAN- 
AGEMENT PRUNING THINNING THE FRUIT VARIETIES 

GATHERING MARKETING DISEASES AND INSECT PESTS. 

This is one of the most delicious and nutritious fruits and of 
easy cultivation. In the value of its products it stands one of 
the lowest. 

Origin. — The Plum is a native of Middle and Southern Europe, 
where it is known as the prune, and is largely imported to this 
country in a dried state and sold at five to twenty-five cents per 
pound, according to quality. The tree is hardy, productive and 
free from disease. 

Propagation. — Like the pear, the Plum is largely propagated 
by budding upon imported stock. Strong growing varieties, such 
as Myrobolan and St. Julien, are considered most desirable. If 
seeds from strong natural seedlings can be obtained they produce 
good stocks. The seed will be injured if exposed to the amount 
of drying that the peach pit often receives, and is best planted in 
the seed bed soon after gathering, although it will not germinate 
until the following spring. 

Nursery Treatment. — The seedlings, either imported or 
home grown, are transplanted to a deep, rich, moist soil in the 
spring, and should be ready to bud in August. The treatment in 
budding and training of the Plum is similar to that of the peach. 
At two years from the bud, the Plum trees are ready to transplant 
to the orchard. 

Orchard. — The Plum succeeds upon a variety of soils, but 
gives the best results upon a deep, rich, moist loam. It is a tree 
that will bear high cultivation without danger of disease or injury 
from cold better, perhaps, than any of the large fruits, except pos- 
sibly the apple. 

The varieties differ very much in size and habit of the growth 
of the tree, and the distance for planting should vary from 12^ by 
lL'! feet, to 20 by 20 feet, according to the kind! The Green 
Gage and other small kinds may be planted the former, while the 



CULTURE OF THE PLUM. 59 

Bradshaw, Lombard, etc., will require the latter distance. Trees 
two years from bud are most commonly planted, although a strong- 
one-year-old tree often does equally well and costs less. 

Cultivation. — The Plum, as stated before, will not be injured 
by a high state of cultivation ; but, as with all other fruits, late 
working of the soil should be avoided. It is largely being planted 
in poultry yards, where the cultivation and fertilization is done to 
a great extent by the fowls, while the trees afford the necessary 
shade during the summer. 

Pruning. — Most of the varieties require the same attention 
while young that the pear tree does, as they also have a tendency 
to grow only three or four strong shoots, which become much ex- 
tended, and when loaded with fruit are liable to be broken off. 
This may be remedied and the tree be made compact and close- 
headed by a little pinching the first two or three years. The form 
of the tree is naturally round and should be trained low on ac- 
count of the ease of thinning and gathering the fruit. 

Age of Bearing. — The Plum, may be expected to produce 
paying crops of fruit at from four to six years from planting in 
the orchard. It naturally tends to injury by over-bearing, but if 
the fruit be thinned, the bearing condition of the tree will con- 
tinue probably from twenty-five to fifty years. 

Thinning the Fruit. — No fruit is more improved by this pro- 
cess than the Plum, and with no fruit will the work give better 
returns. When the fruit is from one-fourth to three-eighths of 
an inch in diameter, all imperfect and insect-bitten fruit should 
be picked. Only one Plum should be allowed to remain on each 
spur, and only one Plum to each three inches of the shoots. 
Where properly thinned the trees are seldom injured by over- 
bearing and the crop is often doubled in value. 

Classification. — The fruit is divided into three classes — the 
green or yellow, the red, and the purple or blue Plums. Many 
varieties, however, partake in a greater or less degree of the char- 
acteristics of two or more classes. 

YELLOW OR GREEN VARIETIES. 

Green Gage. — This variety is generally taken as the standard 
of excellence among Plums. The fruit is small, round, greenish 
yellow, and of the most melting, delicious quality. The tree is 
small, rather slow in growth, but hardy and productive. The 
fruit is in season in September. 

Imperial Gage. — Somewhat resembles the last in fruit, but is 
larger, round, greenish and not quite equal in quality. The tree is 
large, vigorous and productive. The fruit ripens from the mid- 
dle to the last of August. 

McLaughlin. — Large, round, greenish yellow, sweet and fine in 
flavor. The tree is a good grower and productive, ripening its 
fruit the last of August. 



60 VARIETIES OF PLUMS. 

Washington. — A very large, round plum; green, often mottled 
or dotted with red; juicy, sweet and good. Tree remarkable for 
its large, glossy foliage, vigorous growth and productiveness. 

Yellow Magnum Bonum (or Yellow Egg). — A very large yel- 
low Plum, egg-shaped, but of rather coarse quality. The tree is 
vigorous and productive. 

RED VARIETIES. 

Pond's Seedling. — A very large, oval English Plum, red, chang- 
ing to violet; rather coarse in quality, but its size and beauty 
makes it very attractive in the market. The tree is vigorous 
and productive. 

Sharp's Emperor (Victoria). — A beautiful, large Plum; flesh 
rather coarse, but sweet, juicy and good. The tree is vigorous, 
but rather straggling in growth, with downy shoots, maturing its 
fruit about the middle of September. 

PURPLE VARIETIES. 

Bradshaiv. — A very large, dark purple or almost black Plum, 
of fine quality. The tree is very vigorous and moderately pro- 
ductive. It is one of the most profitable varieties on account of 
its size and earliness, being marketable in August. 

Lombard. — Medium to large; dark red or purple when ripe, 
and of fair quality. The tree is remarkably productive and suc- 
ceeds in a great variety of soils, making it a very profitable 
variety. 

Duane's Purple. — Very large, oval, reddish purple ; flesh juicy 
and sweet; tree vigorous, with downy shoots, and productive. 

ADDITIONAL VARIETIES OF VALUE. 

Coe's Golden, German Prune, Gen. Hand, 

Jefferson, Smith's Orleans, Reine Claude, 

Shropshire Damson, St. Lawrence, Yellow Gage. 

Gathering the Fruit. — Like the peach, the Plum must be 
ripened upon the tree to roach perfection, and as the skin is 
thick and the flesh more firm than the latter, it need not be gath- 
ered until nearly in perfection for any except the distant market. 
When ready, the fruit, if for a fancy market, should be picked 
from the tree by the stem and laid carefully in small baskets, in 
single layers, that the bloom may not be rubbed off. The tree 
should be picked over several times, taking only such as are ripe. 
For canning or preserving such care is not needed; in fact, I be- 
lieve the fruit is considered rather better for this purpose if 
gathered a little before fully ripe. 

Marketing. — The best prices are obtained when the fruit is 
put up in fancy packages (boxes or baskets), of one or two layers 
each. In this condition very choice fruit sells for from ten to 
twenty-five cents per dozen or per quart. 

Fruit for canning, which is the smaller kinds and the sortings 



THE PLUM CURCULIO. 



61 



of the larger varieties, is put up in baskets or crates and sells for 
from fifty cents to one dollar and twenty-five cents per peck. 

Insects. — The Plum Weevil or Curculio (Conotrachelus 
nenuphar). This insect is shown at Fig. 42, which is reproduced 
here. This one insect, shown at Fi§. 49, has done more to des- 




Fig. 49.— Reproduced from Fig. 42, Page 42. 
troy the Plum crop of the country than all other causes together. 
When the fruit is the size of peas, the beetle «, punctures it, as 
shown at b, Fig. 49, making a crescent-shaped cut, in which it 
lays an egg. This egg hatches, and the larva or worm enters 
the fruit and destroys it, as shown at e, Fig. 49. The fruit soon 
falls off and the worm escapes to the ground, where it makes its 
cocoon and comes out the following spring. 

Remedy. — The beetle is very sensitive to a sudden jar, looses 
its hold and falls to the ground, remaining with its legs drawn up 
as if dead until it thinks all danger past, when it attempts to 




Fig. 50. 

get away. Taking advantage of this habit, the trees may be 
jarred early in the morning and the insects caught upon expanded 
sheets large enough to extend under all the branches and des- 



62 THE BLACK-KNOT. 

troyed. The sheets may be expanded upon square or rounded 
frames hinged together so as to be folded up, or they may be 
mounted upon a wheelbarrow for convenience of moving about, 
as shown in the accompanying Figure No. 47. The jar must be 
very sudden to bring down the prey, and is best done with a 
wooden mallet covered with a thick cloth pad or a long, heavy 
stick padded at the end. This work must be kept up for three 
weeks from the time the fruit is the size of a pea; it is effectual 
and not very expensive. 

Planting the trees in poultry-yards is also a sure way to secure 
the fruit from the attacks of the curculio. The fowls probably 
catch the beetles as they come out of the ground, and also the 
larvfe as they escape from the fruit. If planted in large quan- 
tities, probably the addition of swine to destroy the falling fruit 
containing the larva? would be advisable. 

The Peach-Borer, Fig. 48, Page 56, is often injurious to the 
roots of the Plum, and the same remedy should be applied as 
for the peach-tree. 

The Rose-Bug, described under those insects injurious to the 
grape, Page 80, is often very destructive to the foliage, especially 
to young trees. The application of pyrethrum powder, espe- 
cially the kind known as Buhach, if applied in the evening, will 
paralyze them so that the bugs will fall upon the curculio frame, 
when they may be very easily destroyed. 

Diseases. — The Black- Wart or Black-Knot, is the most des- 
tructive disease that the Plum is subject to. It is a fungus, 
(Sphosria morbosa,) the spores or seeds of which germinate upon 
the tree, generally upon the branches, in the spring. The roots 
of this fungus plant, known as the mycelium, penetrate the tissue 
of the Plum tree; the tree puts forth an increased growth to 
overcome or overgrow the injury of the fungus itself, thus pro- 
ducing the, black wart, so often seen upon old Plum trees and the 
common sour cherry. The spores of this fungus do not ripen 
until winter, when they are scattered, and are ready to germin- 
ate again in the spring. 

The Remedy. — No application has as yet been discovered that 
will destroy or stop the growth of the warts when they appear. 
They must be removed with the knife as soon as they begin to 
develop and be burned. Cut out every vestige of diseased wood, 
whether upon the trunk or branches. If a large cut is made 
upon the trunk or main branches, the wound should be covered 
with paint or grafting wax. Healthy, vigorous trees are much 
less liable to this disease than weak ones. 

Rotting of the Fruit. — This occurs, as in the peach, in 
moist, warm weather, and when the trees are overloaded. If the 
directions given for the production of choice fruit and the pro- 
duction of healthy, vigorous trees be followed, the grower will 
not be much troubled by his fruit rotting upon the trees. 



THE QUINCE AND CHERRY. 63 



CHAPTER XV, 



THE QUINCE AND CHERRY. 



ORIGIN, PROPAGATION AND GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF THE 
QUINCE AND CHERRY. 

The Quince, Cydonia (Pyrus) vulgaris, is a native of Middle 
and Southern Europe, where it was known and esteemed from 
the earliest records of those countries. It is not a fruit that can 
be used for dessert without cooking, but its aroma and peculiar- 
ly agreeable flavor makes it a much prized fruit for preserves. 
On account of the limited use that can be made of the fruit, it 
will probably not be found profitable if grown in very large 
quantities. 

Propagation. — The Quince is readily propagated by layers, 
stools, and by root-graft. 

Layers. — This consists in budding-down the lower branches in 
the spring, and, after having pared off the bark upon the under- 
side, they are covered with five or six inches of rich, moist soil. In 
the autumn roots will have been thrown out and the layers may 
be cut off and planted in the nursery rows. 

Stools. — This is a modified form of the layer. Stocks that 
have been planted one or two years are cut off near the ground, 
and from these numerous shoots will spring up. These are 
banked up with rich soil the following spring, and in the autumn 
they will be found well-rooted layers, and are to be separated 
from the stock and planted in the nursery. After about two 
crops of layers have been taken from the stool, they are allowed 
to grow again for a year or two before banking up again. 

Root-grafts.— Perhaps the most rapid method of propagation 
is by grafting upon pieces of apple-roots. This is done during 
the winter, as directed for the apple, upon the trimmings of the 
apple seedlings that were used for apple root-grafts, or those not 
large enough for that purpose or for budding. These root-grafts are 
planted in the nursery, in rich, moist soil, and at the end of one 



64 FORMING THE QUINCE TREE. 

season are taken up, when it will be found that the union of the 
scion with the root has been but slight and that numerous roots 
have been sent out from the scion. The apple-root is now broken 
off and the Quince part, which is now a well-rooted cutting, is 
planted in the nursery again in the same condition as the rooted 
layer before described. Propagation by cuttings is too uncertain 
to be profitably employed. 

Nursery. — This should have a deep, rich, moist soil, and the 
layers or rooted cuttings after planting should be trained to one 
shoot. In from two to three years the trees will be of the proper 
size to plant in the orchard. The advantage of training the 
Quince in tree form, although it naturally grows in the form of 
a large shrub, is that the trunk is sometimes attacked by borers 
and if there are several trunks the borers are certain to work 
upon the inside, where it is almost impossible to get at them, 
while with a single trunk the entire surface may be quickly and 
effectually examined and the borers destroyed before they can 
do much harm. Fig. 51 illustrates the form the tree would nat- 





Sp£3»* 



Fig. 51. Fig. 52. 

urally take if unpruned, while Fig. 52 shows one pruned to the 
tree form. Good fruit may be grown in either form, the size and 
quality depending more upon the amount of food in the soil than 
the form of the tree. 

The Orchard. — The best soil for the production of Quince 
fruit is a deep, rich, moist loam; not one containing stagnant 
water, but well underdrained, natural or otherwise. 

The distance for planting may be ten by ten, or twelve by 
twelve feet, according to the nature of the soil; in a very rich 
soil give them more room than if it is poor. The Quince has a 
large number of fine roots, and consequently is easily trans- 
planted with success. 

No fruit responds more quickly to good cultivation and man- 
uring. A late growth, however, is to be avoided by the applica- 
tion of plant food in autumn and early spring. All cultivation 
should cease after August 1. For the production of fruit, use 
potash and ground bone. 

Little or no pruning is required after the tree has become es- 
tablished, except to cut off the suckers as they appear upon the 
trunk or from the roots, and to keep the head in good form. 



VARIETIES OF QTTINCE8. 65 

In good soil, the Quince begins to bear paying crops of fruit in 
from four to six years from planting in the orchard, and con- 
tinues to bear, with good treatment, for from twenty to forty 
years. 

Harvesting. — The fruit should not be gathered until it be- 
gins to turn yellow, when it may all be picked at once. Like the 
varieties of apples with a yellow skin, it must be handled with 
care, as severe bruises will make marks upon the surface. 

The fruit may be kept for one or two months in any cool cel- 
lar or shed, but to keep it beyond this time requires cold storage. 
It does not generally pay to keep the Quince much beyond its 
natural season of ripening, as it meets the most ready market 
during the time when canning and preserving are mostly done. 

Varieties. — There are but few varieties in cultivation, and 
these show less distinctive characteristics than those of almost 
any other kind of fruit. Among the best are : 

Orange. — This is an old standard sort, nearly round in form, and 
of a light yellow color; tree moderately vigorous and productive; 
of fine quality. 

Red's. — This is claimed to be larger and more productive than 
the Orange, but it is no better in quality than the Orange. 

Champion. — A new variety originated in Connecticut. The 
fruit is large, of the same form and color as the Orange, said 
to be of better quality, and comes earlier into bearing. My ex- 
perience with this variety is confined to young trees budded upon 
the Orange stock. In this condition it is evidently a little earlier 
in bearing than the Orange or Ilea's, but this earliness may be 
due to the fact that they are budded trees. Any variety may be 
made of better quality, and larger and finer in form, by good cul- 
tivation than if neglected. 

The Pear Shaped Quince. — This is an old variety differing from 
those mentioned above in form, but rapidly going out of cul- 
tivation. 

Diseases. The Quince is comparatively free from disease. 
It is sometimes attacked by the twig-blight. This is similar in 
appearance to the fire-blight in the pear, but seldom destroys 
more than the ends of the shoots. These should be removed and 
destroyed by burning, as soon as they appear, for the sake of the 
appearance of the orchard, if not to prevent it from spreading. 
The trees are sometimes destroyed by cold where they make a 
late, coarse growth; the remedy or preventive has been previous- 
ly described. 

Insects. — The only insects that are seriously injurious to the 
Quince are the borers that attack the apple. They are to be 
destroyed as described under that subject. 



66 CULTURE OF THE CHERRY. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



THE CHERRY, 



The Cherry (Prunus cerasus), originated in Asia and was first 
introduced into Italy from the town of Cerasus, from whence 
comes its specific name. It is a very delicious, healthful fruit, 
easily grown, but on account of its perishable nature is not gen- 
erally considered a profitable crop. 

Propagation. — Varieties are propagated by budding upon 
seedlings in the nursery. The seedlings are imported or native, 
and are easily grown. The seed, which is generally imported, 
should be from strong, vigorous seedling trees, known as the 
Mazzard stock, and should be planted as soon as gathered, or 
preserved in sand to prevent too much drying, which is liable to 
injure the vitality of the seed. The best soil for the seed-bed is 
a light, rather rich, warm soil. A too rich soil, however, causes 
an over-growth that is undesirable. 

The Nursery. — The seedlings planted in a light soil in the 
nursery, are budded in August. This is considered one of the 
most difficult seedlings to bud on account of the very watery 
nature of the sap. The buds take best when the stock is just 
maturing, or where the growth is rather slow. In setting the 
bud, care should be taken to cut it evenly and smooth, and to 
bind very firmly, cutting off or heading-in the top of the seed- 
ling after the bud has been tied. 

In grafting large trees, the work must be done early in the 
spring, — from April 1st to the 15th in this latitude of Massa- 
chusetts — to be successful. At two years from the bud the trees 
are ready to transplant to the orchard. 

The Orchard. — The best soil for the growth of this fruit is 
one rather light and moderately rich. It is often found growing 
vigorously and in perfect health along roadsides in turf where the 
growth matures early and where the roots are well protected from 
the extremes of heat and cold. In very rich or moist soil the 
tree is generally injured in the winter by the action of the frost 
which bursts the bark and causes large cracks in the trunk, gen- 



ITS VARIETIES, 67 

erally upon the south side. This injury is often followed by a 
gradual dying of the tree, similar to the effect of the "yellows" 
in the peach. 

The distance required for setting the trees is fifteen by fifteen 
feet for the smaller growing kinds, and twenty by twenty feet for 
the larger sorts. If the land is cultivated, it should be only 
during the early part of the season. The trees should be planted 
around the borders of lots or about stone walls, unless planted 
in large quantities. 

Very little pruning is required, the tree generally taking a 
perfect form without much care. Proper attention should be 
given, however, to the formation of the head at the proper height 
while the trees are small. 

Harvesting. — The Cherry must be allowed to ripen upon the 
tree to reach perfection; for canning purposes and preserves it 
may be gathered before it reaches this stage. It should be picked 
with the stems on, as in that condition it keeps much longer. The 
Cherry is generally marketed in the common quart strawberry 
boxes packed in crates. On account of its perishable nature 
large quantities cannot be disposed of unless they are very nice. 
In large orchards, the best way to dispose of the crop is to sell 
them to canning factories or to have canning or evaporating fa- 
cilities upon the grounds. 

Classification and Varieties. — The fruit is divided into 
four classes, under each of which I give a few of the best sorts. 

Heart Cherries. — Trees erect and pyramidal; flesh tender, 
juicy and sweet. 

Black Tartarian. — One of the largest black Cherries; of the 
best quality and very productive; middle to last of June. 

Early Purple. — A very early Cherry of medium size and fair 
quality; ripens early in June; tree moderately vigorous and 
productive. 

Gov. Wood. — One of the finest yellow or light red Cherries; 
tree vigorous and somewhat irregular; last of June. 

Downer's. — A very desirable late red Cherry of medium size 
and must be fully ripe to be good ; tree vigorous and productive ; 
July. 

Bigarreau Cherries. — Similar in form of fruit to the Heart 
Cherries, but the flesh is very fine and sweet; tree more 
spreading. 

Yellow Spanish. — Large, pale yellow, with red cheek; flesh fine, 
melting and sweet; one of the best but often rots on the tree; 
last of June. 

Cleveland. — Large, red and yellow; juicy, rich and sweet; mid- 
dle to last of June; tree vigorous and productive. 

Rockport. — Large, pale-amber and red; flesh tender, sweet and 
good; tree erect and vigorous. 



68 VAKIETIES — DISEASES AND INSECTS. 

Tradescants. — Very large, black, fine, juicy and good; tree vig- 
orous and very productive ; middle of July. 

Duke Cherries. — The trees are round in form, with strong 
shoots, and the fruit generally sweet. 

May Duke. — An old variety of good quality, large, dark red, 
tender and rich; tree vigorous, hardy and productive; middle 
of June. 

Royal Duke. — Very large, of good quality, and ripens a little 
later than the last; vigorous and productive. 

Heine Hortense. — A French variety of great value ; large, juicy, 
sweet and good; tree remarkably vigorous and erect. 

Morello Cherries. — Head round, shoots slender, tree of 
small size and fruit acid. 

Early Richmond. — A large, early, red Cherry, valued especially 
for cooking and preserves. It is more extensively grown per- 
haps than all other kinds together. The tree is vigorous and re- 
markably productive, ripening its fruit in June. 

Belle Magnifique. — A very large, late Cherry of better quality 
than the last; tree vigorous and productive; middle to last 
of July. 

Diseases and Insects. — The Cherry is comparatively free 
from destructive diseases. In moist, unfavorable seasons, a mil- 
dew sometimes attacks the leaves, doing some injury, and may 
be avoided by good cultivation. 

The Cherry Aphis or Louse (Mysus cerasi), is the small, black 
aphis that appear so abundantly upon the leaves and young shoots 
of the Cherry tree in summer. It is injurious by sucking the 
juices of the plant, causing the leaves to curl and the growth 
to cease. 

The lice are destroyed with a strong solution of soap and to- 
bacco water, and also by dusting with pyrethrum just at night. 
With young trees, the branches may be bent down and dipped 
in basins of the above solution. 

The Rose Bug, described on Page 80, in the chapter on the 
grape, is often destructive to the foliage and may be destroyed 
by placing the curculio screen under the tree and applying the 
pyrethrum or Buhach powder, when they will all fall to the 
ground paralyzed. 

The Plum Curculio often punctures the fruit and the worms 
found in the Cherries are its larvse. Upon young trees the jarring 
process of destruction may be followed, but the use of poultry is 
much more satisfactory, when the trees become large. 



ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE GRAPE. 



CHAPTER XVH. 



THE GRAPE. 

(Vitis labrusca, the Fox Grape; Vitis cordifolia , the Frost Grape; Vitis vinifera, 
the European Grape.) 

It is difficult to say at this writing whether this fruit should 
take the second or third place in the value of its products. 
Its cultivation has increased at an amazing rate in the past few 
years, and, owing to its ease of culture, its Ion ^-keeping quali- 
ties, and its value as a healthful and nutritious article of food, it 
should have the second place in importance, if not for the money 
value of its products. 

Origin and History. — All the varieties of Grapes now culti- 
vated are native seedlings and have originated from one or more 
of the above species. In 1820, only one or two of the varieties 
now cultivated were known in any section of the country and all 
that are especially valuable have originated within the last twenty- 
five or thirty years. A few of the best varieties are the result of 
hybridization, but most of them are chance seedlings, or seed- 
lings of such hardy and reliable sorts as the Concord. The in- 
troduction of foreign blood, as it is called, or the crossing of our 
common fox grape with varieties of the European, has always 
resulted in a weak vine, liable to mildew and to injury from cold. 
Our greatest hope of securing the perfect grape is from seedlings 
in which the improvement in quality is due to the natural influ- 
ences of cultivation. 

Propagation. — The Grape is propagated by cuttings, by 
layers and by grafting. 

Cuttings. — Grape cuttings are of two kinds, the long, Fig. 53, 



~-5^ 



Fig. 53. 

and the short, Fig. 54. The long cutting is made of two or more 
buds of the last season's wood of medium size, and from six to 



70 CUTTINGS AND LAYERS. 

eight inches in length. These should be made in the fall and he 




planted before the ground freezes; or be tied in bundles of 
twenty-five and preserved by burying in soil where there will be 
no standing water; or in a cool, moist cellar, in sand. In the 
spring they are planted in rich, moist soil, with the upper bud 
just at the surface of the soil. 

In planting, the main condition of success is to press the soil 
very firmly about the base of the cuttings. Cuttings planted in 
the fall should be covered with some mulchy material to prevent 
their being thrown out by the frost. Most of the common kinds 
may be propagated in this way. The Delaware, and a few others, 
however, fail to root from long cuttings and must be grown by 
short cuttings. 

The short cutting consists of a single bud and from two to three 
inches of wood, cut in various ways. The most common form 
is shown in the above figure, No. £4. These cuttings must be 
rooted in sand and by the aid of artificial heat. They are made 
in the winter and put in beds or boxes of sand the cuttings being 
one or two inches apart, and the boxes or bed having bottom heat; 
that is, with hot water or steam heat or fermenting stable manure, 
under them. The conditions under which they are most success- 
fully rooted are, a temperature of the soil or sand of fifty or 
sixty degrees and that of the atmosphere forty or forty-five de- 
grees. When well rooted, the cuttings are transplanted to boxes 
of soil; or, if the danger of frost is past, to the open ground. 
Short cuttings make better plants than those from long cuttings, 
if they are' properly treated, as the roots all come out from nearly 
the same point, very much like those of seedlings. 

Layers. — Layering the Grapes is done during the summer, when 
it is called a summer layer, or in the Spring, when it is called 
a spring layer. A summer layer consists of a shoot of 




the present season's growth, bent down early in July and cov- 
ered with six inches of moist soil. Before covering it is best to 



GRAFTING THE GRAPE. 71 

cut off a thin layer of bark along the underside of the cane, 
which will facilitate the emission of roots. At the end of the 
summer or the following spring, this cane is cut from the parent 
vine and will be found a well-rooted, strong plant. 

By the spring method, Fig. 55, as many plants may be pro- 
duced from one layer as there are buds upon the cane laid down. 
When the layer is to be made, a trench is dug six or eight inches 
deep, in which is laid the cane of the last season's growth, fixing 
it firmly in the bottom by the use of forked sticks or stones, as 
shown at a, Fig. 55. This remains uncovered nntii the buds 
have sent up about ten inches' growth, when the soil is thrown in. 

It will often be found that the buds near the parent vine and 
those at the end of the cane will grow first and more strongly 
than those in the center. To overcome this, the cane should be 
bent up and the end stuck into the ground, as shown at b, Fig. 55. 
The bending checks the flow of sap at the end of the cane. The 
sap rises more rapidly to the highest point and the result is an 
increased growth of the center buds. 

At the end of the season, roots will be found coming from 
around the base of each shoot, and by cutting the canes between 
the nodes we have as many good vines as there were buds upon 
the covered part of the cane. 

By no other method can as many vines be as certainly obtained 
as by the spring layer, and the process is so simple that he who 
has one vine may rapidly increase his stock. 

Grafting. — With no other fruit is grafting so uncertain of 
success as with the grape vine. Various methods have been sug- 
gested, but perhaps the one described below is the most certain. 
In the fall, just before the ground freezes, take any strong stock 
that you wish to graft ; and, removing the soil from the roots, 
cut the main cane off a few inches below the surface. Upon this 
is to be practiced cleft-grafting. The stock is now split (if very 
tough and gnarly a saw may be used to split it), and scions of one 
or two buds, are cut and inserted, as illustrated by Figs. 20 to 24, 
Pages 23-24. After the wedge has been withdrawn, the soil is 
pressed closely about the graft, no wax being used, but covering 
it up to the top bud of the scion. Over this scion is placed an 
an inverted small flower-pot, so that when the soil is removed in 
the spring the scion may not be disturbed. 

The whole work is now covered with at least a foot of soil, 
and as severe weather approaches, over this is thrown enough 
litter to prevent the ground around the stock from freezing. In this 
way, if the grafting is successful, a very strong growth will be made 
the next season, and the second year a fine crop of fruit may be 
expected. I have known a single bud placed in a stock less than 
three-fourths of an inch in diameter to make a growth of two 
canes over eight feet long the first season. This affords a good 
way of testing new varieties, and is one of the most certain 
methods of grafting the vine that I have tried, but I would not 
count upon more than three successes in five trials. 



72 SETTING THE GRAPE VINE. 

The Vineyard. — The best vines for planting in the vineyard 
are No. 1 one-year-olds from cuttings or layers. These should 
not have made less than eighteen inches of wood, and have a 
large mass of fibrous roots. 

The best soil is a light sandy or gravelly loam that does not 
suffer from drouth; and if on an elevation sloping to the south, 
the fruit will be of much finer quality and will be less liable to 
injury from late frosts in the spring or early frosts in the fall. 
The more small stones in the soil the warmer it will be, and the 
richer and earlier the fruit. 

Before planting, the land should be thoroughly prepared and 
marked out with a marker or with a plow. If very accurate 
spacing is desired, the marking or staking should be done with 
the line or wire. The soil should be made moderately rich by 
the use of well-rotted stable manure or bone and potash. 

The distance of planting is from s'x by ten feet, to ten by ten 
feet according to the vigor of the variety and the mode of train- 
ing. For all but the very small growing kinds, like the Dela- 
ware, Lady, etc., I think the latter distance the best. The nearer 
they are planted, the less space the roots will have iii which to 
develop and the more fertilizing material will need to be applied, 
and vice versa. 

The most rapid way of planting is to furrow out the land both 
ways, and the vines are planted at the intersection. 

Before planting, the top of the vine should be cut off to two or 
three buds, and if the roots are very long, it is well to cut them 
back to ten inches in length. Having prepared the vine, the hole 
is prepared with a spade by taking out three or four spadefuls 
of soil at the intersection of the furrow previously made, in such 
a way that the soil in the center will be a little higher than that 
on the border of the hole, so that the ends of the roots may be 
planted about ei^ht inches deep while the crown of the root shall 
be covered only four or five inches. Spread out the roots in all 
directions and fill in with good surface soil, pressing -it very firm- 
ly in place. If the soil be very poor, a handful or two of fine 
ground bone may be worked in with the soil about the roots with 
great benefit. 

Cultivation. — The land of the vineyard may be planted for 
the first two years with some low-hoed crop like potatoes or 
beans; provided a little more plant-food is returned to the soil 
in the fall or spring than is taken up by the crop removed. Per- 
haps there is nothing better to grow in the newly-set vineyard 
than the bean crop, as cultivation would cease early in July; 
while the land would be disturbed by digging the crop of potatoes 
so much and so late as to cause a late growth of the vines. No 
crops should ever be planted in the vineyard that will shade 
vines. 

Pruning and Training.— The First Year. — During the first 
summer, the vines will require no care except to see that they 
are not injured in cultivating the other crops. They will grow 



PRUNING AND TRAINING. 



73 



better and mature their wood more thoroughly, lying upon the 
ground, than if supported by stakes. 

At the end of the first year's growth, or before the sap begins 
to move in the spring of the second year, the top of the vine 
should be cut back to one strong cane of three buds. It is per- 
haps best to do this in the fall of the first year, and then cover 
up the end of the cane with one or two shovelfuls of soil to protect 
it from the winter. 

The Second Year. — Only one cane should be allowed to grow 
the second year, and this should be tied up to a stake. Any kind 
of a stake that is four or five feet high will do for this purpose. 
All laterals that may start from the buds at the base of the cane 
should be pinched off as soon as they are four or five inches long, 
and all the growth forced into the main cane. When the cane 
has reached the top of the stake, the end should be pinched. 
This will cause it to become thick and stocky, and the wood to 
mature more fully. At the end of the second year the cane may 
be laid down again to protect it from injury. 

Supports and Trellises. — The vine has now reached a stage 
where it needs some permanent support. Two methods are com- 
monly employed by vineyardists for supporting their vines, 
stakes and trellises. The advantages of the first are that the 
vines can be cultivated both ways with the horse during the spring 
and early summer, and that material often obtained very cheaply 
from one's own land may be used for stakes, while the trellis is 
more durable and the vines require less support to keep them up 
from the ground. 

Stakes. — In this method various kinds of stakes are used. 




Fig. 56. Fig. 57. 

Some vineyardists use only one stake (Fig. 56) , and others use two 
stakes, one about eighteen inches each side of the vine, as shown 



74 



TRELLIS FOR THE GRAPE. 



in Fig. 57. The chestnut, larch and cedar posts are of about 
equal durability. Posts of sawn two by three-inch stuff are often 
used, and have the advantage, that if they are renewed just 
before they break off, the new stakes may be easily inserted 
where the old ones were removed without making a new hole, 
if the work is done in the spring. 

Trellises. — In this method, many kinds of trellises have 
been used, but the best and most commonly used is made of 
posts, nine feet long, set from fifteen to twenty feet apart, and 
three feet below the surface. The end posts should be large and 
well braced, while smaller ones may be used in the middle. Upon 
these posts (Fig. 58) are placed three or four No. 14 galvanized 
wires, the first one being not less than two feet from the ground. 
These are fixed in place with staples, and the wires are stretched 
by means of levers or by the common barbed-wire stretcher. 
No. 16 wire is sometimes used, but is rather small to support a 
great weight of vine and fruit; and the larger the wire the more 
distant can the posts be set. 

Training. — Having the stakes set or the trellis made the third 
year, the vine must be established upon the supports. If the 
stakes are vised, the system of training consists in simply winding 
one cane arounde ach stake, and fixing it in two or three places so 
that it shall not slip down (Figs. 56 and 57). The string of any 
coarse, strong material, should be tied with a loop around the 
vine so as to allow for (he increase in size by growth. 

The third season the fruit is borne upon the laterals from the 
main cane, but the fourth year it is borne upon spurs made by 
cutting these laterals back to three buds in the fall or winter, 
as shown at a, Fig. 58. The pruning each year after the vine 




Fig. 58. 
has become established consists in simply cutting back the last 
season's canes to spurs. Only a limited number of spurs should 



SYSTEMS OF TRAINING. 



75 



be allowed to remain, according to the strength of the vine, cut- 




ting away all weak shoots. From each of the spurs should be 
allowed to grow one or two canes, and upon each of these there 
should not be allowed to mature more than two bunches of 
Grapes, and if the vine is not strong, only one bunch. 



76 



THE HORIZONTAL ARM SYSTEM. 



Upon the trellis the vine 
may be established in a 
natural fan system (Fig-. 
58), in the vertical arm 
system (Fig. 59), or in the 
horizontal arm system 
(Fig. 60). 

All the various systems 
by which the vine is trained 
may be brought down to 
two — the spur system, 
and the renewal system. 
By the spur system all the 
canes at the end of the 
season are cut back to 
three buds, as shown at 
the dotted lines a, Fig. 58. 
( By the renewal system, 
§ canes are grown this sea- 
.-fson for fruiting the next; 
while the cane that has 
borne fruit, is cut back to 
a spur from which is grown 
the cane to produce the 
fruit the next season. 

The two systems are 
practiced with various 
modifications, but the 
whole secret of success 
lies in the amount of 
strong, thoroughly ripened 
wood that can be produced 
and of allowing only a 
small number of large, 
perfect bunches to remain 
upon the vine. 

The thinning of the 
fruit should be done as 
soon as the grapes are the size of peas. All the small bunches 
should be removed and only one or two be left upon each new 
shoot, according to the strength of the vine. Under the best of 
cultivation a vine four or five years old may produce from five 
to ten pounds of choice fruit; and as it increases in size and vigor, 
it may produce as high as twenty pounds. The average for vine- 
yards, in full bearing, will not be over ten pounds of choice fruit 
per vine. 

Pruning. — The beginner in Grape-growing is often much 
troubled about the best time to prune the vine and the best 
methods of pruning. With vines that are well established the 
work is very simple and consists, in the spur system, in cutting- 




TIME AND MANNER OF PRUNING. 



77 



back all the strong shoots to three buds and removing entirely 
all weak canes not needed to carry out the system. In the re- 
newal system, those shoots that are to remain for fruiting next 
season are shortened to a proper length, and the shoots from 
which the new canes are to be grown are cut back to spurs. All 
wood, not needed to carry out the system, is cut away. 

The best time for pruning is in the fall or winter. Pruning 
after the sap begins to move in the spring, or after the middle of 
March, cannot be recommended, although there is no evidence to 
prove that the vines are injured by the " bleeding " that takes 
place when pruned so late. 

The best implement for pruning is the common hand .pruning 




Fig. 61. 

shears, of which there are many good patterns. The dotted lines 
at a, Figs. 61 and 62, show where the cuts are to be made. 




Fig. 62. 

Pruning Old Vines. — In many gardens there are to be found 
old vines that have not been pruned for years, and the fruit is 
small and almost worthless. The owner still neglects it because 
he does not know how to take hold of the vine and put it into 
shape. Such a vine, with a little care, may be made productive, 
and can easily be brought under some system of pruning. The 
first thing to do in the fall, is to cut, and cut, and cut away 
until the vine consists of the necessary arms, branches or laterals 
to allow a single one to each wire, stake, slat or other support 
used. From these branches during the following summer will 
come out numerous sprouts. Such of these as are needed to re- 



78 SUMMER PRUNING HARVESTING. 

place the old canes or to furnish fruit spurs are preserved, and 
the others rubbed off before they have made much growth. At 
the end of the first season, or at least of the second, the vine will 
consist of new wood, and any of the various systems may be car- 
ried out with it. In the case of such old vines, unless canes 
of one year's growth can be found for arms, no fruit will be pro- 
duced the year after the first pruning. No fear need be had that 
the vine will be injured, as winter pruning generally tends to in- 
crease growth rather than diminish it. This is just the oppo- 
site of summer pruning. 

Summer Pruning. — In order to force the growth into the canes 
that are to produce the fruit and the canes for renewal, summer 
pruning is resorted to. This consists in pinching out the end bud 
of the fruiting cane when it has reached two or three feet beyond 
the last bunch of fruit; and pinching back the renewal cane 
when it has reached the length required for the kind of support 
used. 

A large amount of foliage should never be removed from tree, 
vine or plant, unless to check its growth, for it is certain to re- 
sult in injury. The maturity and perfection of the fruit, and in 
fact that of the whole plant, depend upon the amount and vigor 
of the foliage; and the common idea that removing the foliage 
to let in the sun hastens the ripening process, is wholly wrong. 
The best fruit is always found under the foliage shielded from 
the hot, scorching sun. 

Gathering the Fruit. — Unlike some other fruits, the Grape 
does not improve in quality after removal from the vine, and 
consequently must be allowed to remain upon the vine until ripe. 
A very certain indication of the maturity of the Grape is when 
about one-half inch of the stem where it joins the cane has turned 
brown like the bark of the cane. Light frosts will injure par- 
tially ripened fruit, but when fully mature, it takes a freeze to 
seriously injure it. 

To retain the beauty of the fruit, that is, not to injure the 
bloom, the bunches must be removed by taking hold of the stems 
and breaking them off or by cutting with a knife or scissors. 
Where large quantities are to be gathered, large shallow trays 
are used upon which a single layer of bunches is placed ; then the 
trays are carried upon a rack to the packing or 'storing room. 
Small quantities may be picked in the field, trimmed and packed 
in baskets or trays ready for market. 

Packing and Shipping. — For a distant market, only thick- 
skinned kinds can be successfully shipped. These are sorted, 
all the imperfect berries cut out; the bunches are then packed 
closely in small baskets holding from five to ten pounds. For 
local markets, they are taken to the dealer in trays or shallow 
baskets, in a single layer, so that the bloom will not be injured. 

Preserving. — The Grape is a fruit that may be easily kept 
much beyond its season. The most perfect conditions for pres- 



VARIETIES OF GRAPES. 79 

ervation are a moist, cool atmosphere, and the temperature about 
35°. This is only obtained by the use of ice. In this section, 
varieties like the Concord, that ripen from the first to the middle 
of September, may be kept until the last of November under such 
conditions. Thick-skinned kinds may be preserved later in a 
cool, dry place, by packing in single layers of cotton wool in a 
close box, but the stems generally shrivel and the berries are 
likely to drop. 

Classification. — Varieties are classified into black, red and 
white. 

BLACK VARIETIES. 

Moore's Early. — For its extreme earliness, for the northern fruit 
belt, this must be placed first. The vine is a pure native, hardy, 
moderately vigorous and productive; berry very large, round, 
and nearly black ; bunch medium and large, with much less bloom 
than the Concord; quality fair, equaling the Concord and ripen- 
ing ten days earlier. 

Concord. — For vigor, hardiness and productiveness, this is still 
une quale d. In quality it is only fair and with a thin skin. It is 
still "the Grape for the millions," and is too well known to need 
further description. 

Worden. — A seedling of the Concord, and in some sections said 
to be superior to that variety. It resembles its parent in all 
particulars, but may be a little earlier and of better quality. 

Wilder (Rogers' No. 4). — A hybrid Grape of large size and 
fine quality; bunch large and showy. With careful culture it 
may be found profitable. 

RED GRAPES. 

Delaware. — This little Grape is everywhere known. It is hardy, 
productive, but slow in growth, and the thin leaves are liable to 
injury from mildew. The fruit is of the best quality. The Del- 
aware requires careful and rich culture. 

Brighton. — Medium to large, of good quality, and ripening with 
the Concord. Color rather dark red, which is an objectionable 
color for a market Grape ; of fair quality and a good keeper. 

Vergennes. — A red Grape of more recent introduction, but es- 
pecially valuable for its late keeping qualities. 

WHITE GRAPES. 

Lady. — A small Grape of good quality ; vine rather slow in 
growth, but hardy and productive. 

Martha. — An old variety, with vine resembling the Concord; 
fruit medium in size and of fair quality. 

ADDITIONAL VARIETIES OF MERIT. 

Rockwood, Jefferson, Niagara, Francis B. Hayes. 



80 



GIRDLING THE GRAPE. 



Girdling the Grape. — In our northern sections, frosts come 
so early that even the Concord often fails to ripen, and there is 
need of some process by which even later varieties of high 
quality may be ripened with certainty. Such a process is found 
in what is known as gird- 
ling or ringing. It con- 
sists in taking a ring of 
bark out of the growing 
cane, just below the fruit 
as shown in Fig. 63. The 
girdling should be done 
about four weeks in ad- 
vance of the usual time of 
ripening. The effect of 
this is to cause a rapid in- ' 
crease in the size of the 
fruit and to hasten its ma- 
turity from ten days to 
two weeks. In a series of 
experiments, made at the 
Massachusetts Agricultur- 
al College, it was found 
that the quality of the 
fruit was not injured by 
the girdling, nor could 
any perceptible injury be 
discovered to the vine. 
The ring of bark may be 
removed rapidly with the 
knife, Fig. 64. The use of 




Fig. 63. 



strings or wires twisted tightly around the canes will probably 
answer the same purpose as the removal of the ring of bark. 
Only those canes that are to be cut away entirely at the end of 
the season should be girdled. The cane is girdled at A, Fig, 63, 




Fig. 64. 

and after fruiting is cut back to E, leaving two canes, C and D, for 
the continuation of the treatment. The cane B is to be cut back 
to one or two buds at the fall or winter pruning. 

Insects. — The Grape is a fruit generally one of the least sub- 
ject to injury from insects. Some seasons the Rose Bug, which 
is too common to need description, plays havoc with the blossoms, 
just as the fruit is setting, and in a few sections has done some 
injury to the foliage. It is an insect that notning seems to des- 
troy, but it may be paralyzed by the use of the pyrethrum 
powder, applied just at night, when the bugs may be caught upon 



THE PHYLLOXERA. 



81 



the curculio screen. Hand-picking, which has been resorted to 
by some growers, is too expensive except upon very choice vari- 




Fig. 65. 

eties. It is claimed by the Buhach company that their prepar- 
ation of pyrethrum will kill this pest. Should this prove to be 
the case, the screen will not be needed. 

Phylloxera or Grape Vine Louse {Phylloxera vastatrix). — This is 
the insect that is so destructive to vines of European vineyards, 
and has destroyed thousands and thousands of acres of vines 
there. It is a native of this country and by some means was 
transported across the Atlantic and has propagated and developed 
with great rapidity upon the more tender European Grapes. It 
is generally found in two forms, the leaf and root form. The 
former is very small, not over one thirty-second of an inch in 
length, of a light yellow color, and sucks the juices of the leaves 
and tender branches, causing small warts or galls upon them. 
The leaf forms of the Phylloxera is shown at Fig. 65 : a. front 
view of the young louse; b, back view of the louse; c, the egg; 
d, a section of one of the galls; e, a swollen tendril; f,g,h, 
mature egg-bearing gall-louse, lateral, dorsal (or back), and ventral 
(or belly) views; i, the antenna; j, the two-jointed tarsus. 

The root form (Fig. 66) is of about the same size and causes 
similar swellings upon the fibrous roots. Fig. 66, illustrates the 
root phylloxera : a, the roots of a Clinton vine, showing the 
swellings ; b, young louse in the hibernating stage ; c, d, antenna; 



82 



VARIOUS FORMS OF PHYLLOXERA. 




Fig. 66. 

and leg of the same; e,f, g, matured lice. In Fig 67, a, is a 
healthy root; b, a root on which the lice are working; c, a root 




Fig. 67. 



DISEASES OF THE GRAPE. 



83 



which they have ravaged and deserted, and which is decaying; 
d, d, d, lice on large roots; e,-the female pupa, seen from above; 
/, female pupa, seen from below; g, winged female, dorsal view; 
h, the same, ventral view; i, antenna of the winged insect. 

While the insect is almost always found upon our native vines 
in large numbers, especially the root form, their vigor of growth 
seems to overcome its attack, and no permanent injury results. 
No remedy has been successfully applied. 

Diseases. — Varieties that have originated from the European 
grape, wholly or in part, are often subject to the mildew, as are 
also native varieties under certain conditions. It is a fungus 
parasite that grows in the tissue of the leaf, destroying it by 
penetrating the cell wall and feeding upon the food prepared for 
the nourishment of the vine. When mature, the fruit of the 
mildew fungi is borne upon stalks that come out of the breathing 
pores of the leaves, and appear in such numbers as to give the 
leaf a mealy appearance, whence the name, meal dew, or mil- 
dew. It makes its appearance during wet weather, when the 
vine is in an unhealthy condition from 
any cause. It is doubtful if this fun- 
gus will grow upon perfectly healthy 
tissue. 

Remedy. — Good cultivation, plenty 
of sunlight and a liberal supply of 
potash and bone is the best remedy 
that can be applied. 

Grape-berry Moth (Endermis bo- 
tiand) is destructive only when abun- 
dant. Fig. 68 shows the perfect 
insect at a, c the discolored spot 
where the worm has entered the fruit, 
b the worm, and d the berry it has 
deserted. There is no practical rem- 
edy, but burning the fallen leaves to 
destroy the chrysalides they harbor is recommended. 




84: THE BLACKBERRY, 



CHAPTER XVI. 



THE BLACKBERRY AND RASP- 
BERRY. 



THEIR PROPAGATION TRANSPLANTING CULTURE PRUNING — 

WINTER PROTECTION VARIETIES GATHERING MARKETING 

PROFITS. 

The Blackberry (Rubus villosus) is a native fruit, and found 
in almost every section of the country. The fruit is noted for 
its medicinal qualities, and is a valuable addition to the late sum- 
mer fruits. It is more largely grown in field culture on the thin 
soils of New Jersey than in any other section of the country, 
from whence it is shipped to the large cities, both North and 
South. 

The Blackberry is very commonly planted in the fruit garden, 
in some out-of-the-way corner, where it is allowed to spread un- 
molested until it becomes an impenetrable jungle, where neither 
man nor animals can get at the fruit. Then we hear it voted a 
nuisance, when with a little care at the proper time it would have 
yielded an abundance of rich and healthful fruit. 

Propagation. — The Blackberry is naturally propagated by 
suckers from the roots, and for all ordinary purposes no other 
means need be employed. The number of suckers may be 
largely increased by running a sharp spade into the soil in the 
fall, eight or ten inches deep, near the plant, at intervals of every 
three or four inches. The roots thus cut off will throw up 
numerous shoots and result in independent plants. 

The Blackberry is also propagated by root cuttings. In the 
fall the roots are dug up, using everything the size of one-eighth 
of an inch in diameter and upward, and cutting them into three 
or four inches in length. These are put in beds of rich soil and 
covered with two or three inches of soil. The bed should be 
protected from severe freezing by covering it with from ten inches 
to one foot of mulching material. In the spring this mulch is 



CULTURE AND PRUNING. 85 

taken off, and each piece of root will throe- up one or more shoots 
and make good plants. Root cuttings are sometimes preserved 
in boxes of soil, buried in the ground during the winter, and 
planted in the bed in the spring, or in the field, where they 
are to grow permanently. 

Transplanting. — The best time for setting out Blackberries 
and Red Raspberries is in the fall, although they may be set with 
success in the spring. If planted in the fall, a shovelful or two 
of soil or manure should be put around the plants to prevent 
their being thrown out by the frost. The Blackberry will grow 
upon very poor, thin soil, and upon such is not liable to winter- 
kill ; but to obtain large fruit, the land must be heavily mulched 
during June and July to prevent the escape of moisture. When 
planted upon rich, moist land, in order to be certain of a good 
crop, the canes must be covered in the winter, as directed below. 

The distance for planting the Blackberry is four by six feet for 
Wilson's Early and other small growing kinds, and four by eight 
feet if to be grown in rows, or six by eight feet if to be grown in 
hills, for the larger varieties. They are planted so as to run to- 
gether, forming close rows, or may be kept in hills so that the 
work of cultivation may be done with the horse. 

Cultivation and Pruning. — There are few crops that may 
be so easily grown, if the work is done at the proper time, as the 
Blackberry ; and there are also few fruits, that if neglected, re- 
quire so much care to put in condition again. 

The hill system has many advantages, and among others, that 
the suckers, which will come up in large numbers, may be kept 
down entirely with the cultivator, going both ways, while in the 
row system they must be thinned out with the hoe and hook, and all 
suckers not wanted in the hill or row must be treated as weeds. 
If no mulch is used when the fruit is maturing, the cultivator 
should be run every few days to keep the soil loose and light, so 
as to prevent the escape of moisture. Late cultivation, that is, 
after August first, should be avoided, on account of its tending to 
cause a late growth of cane, that is very liable to winter-kill. 

The best w&y to destroy suckers, if they have been neglected 
until too woody to be cut off with the hoe (and this is the condi- 
tion of many blackberry plantations), is to put on a thick pair of 
gloves and an old coat, and pull them out in June or July. If 
pulled at this time, very few will start until the following 
spring. 

Pruning. — The success of Blackberry and Raspberry cultiva- 
tion depends largely upon pruning. The first year, at planting, 
the one cane used should be cut back to six or eight inches. 
During the summer, when the new shoots have reached two feet 
in height, the ends must be pinched to make them stocky, so that 
they will not require support. At the end of the first season's 
growth the old cane should be cut out entirely. The second year 
the canes will bear some fruit, but probably not enough to pay to 



86 WINTER PROTECTION. 

protect by mulching, and it is better to pick the blossoms oft', that 
the whole strength may go into the new canes. 

The same process of summer pruning should be practiced, as the 
first year, to make the canes stocky, and only a limited number of 
the strongest canes should be allowed to grow in each row or hill. 
At the end of each season's growth the old canes are again cut 
out. This may be done during the fall, after the leaves have 
turned yellow ; or, what is a better practice, in August or Sep- 
tember, after the fruit has been gathered, so as to allow the new 
canes a better chance to develop. The third season from plant- 
ing a full crop of fruit may be expected, and the j>rocess of prun- 
ing each year is the same as the first and second season. No 
supports are needed for the canes if they have been properly 
summer pruned. 

Winter Protection. — It is doubtful if we have any varieties 
of this fruit that are perfectly hardy in this latitude. Many are 
claimed to be perfectly hardy or iron-clad, but in unfavorable 
seasons all are more or less injured by cold. For this reason 
some protection must be given, and laying down and covering 
with soil should be resorted to, to insure the crop. This will 
seem like a formidable undertaking to the inexperienced ; yet it 
is very easily and quickly accomplished by three men, two of 
whom are provided with thick gloves and coat. 

The men with gloves gather the plants of a hill or a part of the 
row in their hands about a foot from the ground, and with a strong 
pull start or loosen the plants at the roots a little, and then bend 
them over to the ground, all the time pulling the canes that they 
may not break. When bent to the ground, the third man, with 
a spade, throws soil enough upon the ends of the canes to keep 
them in place. When the whole field has been laid over in this 
manner, a plow is run upon each side, throwing up more soil and 
completely covering the tops. 

Should .the ground be covered with snow during the winter, 
complete covering will not be necessary, and the canes may be 
laid down and kept in place by heavy rails. Two men take the 
rail and place it against the canes of several hills near the ground, 
press firmly against it, and as the canes bend the rail is raised so 
that when bent over entirely it will be about midway of the 
canes. In this way but few of the larger canes will break, and it 
would be well to first go through the rows and loosen them at the 
roots before using the rails. 

varieties. 

Wachusett. — This is a native of Massachusetts, and is as hardy 
as any variety, having been injured only a few seasons since its 
introduction. It is comparatively free from thorns, and is called 
the "Thornless." The fruit is of medium size and of fine quality. 
In rich soil the fruit is of good size. 

Snyder. — A variety somewhat resembling the last in fruit, but 
a little larger, more vigorous and productive, but not quite as 
hardy. 



VARIETIES OF THE BLACKBERRY. 87 

Agawam. — Resembles the Snyder, but is earlier and perhaps a 
little larger ; vigorous, hardy and productive. 

Wilson's Early. — An old, tender variety of small growth, but 
producing very large early berries of good quality. As the canes 
are small, they may be easily laid down and treated in this way. 
This variety would probably be profitable. 

Kittatinny. — A tender variety of very large growth, and pro- 
ducing very large fruit of fine quality when not winter-killed ; 
must be covered. 

New Varieties of Promise. — Wilson Jr., Early Harvest, Early 
Cluster. 

Gathering and Marketing. — The Blackberry is picked in 
quart or pint strawberry baskets and shipped in the common 
crates. If gathered while yet hard, it will stand two days with- 
out injury, and, in fact, will improve a little in quality, but will 
not be as good as when gathered perfectly ripe from the vines. 
If picked in good condition, and if of good size, it sells readily 
in all markets at from ten to twenty cents per quart. It should 
be planted in every garden, for no plant will produce as much 
fruit with so little care, if given at the proper time. 



THE RED RASPBERRY. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



THE RASPBERRY. 

The Red Raspberry (Rubus strigosus). — This is a fruit that 
always commands a very high price, and is being extensively 
grown in many sections. It requires a rather more moist soil 
than the blackberry to produce its best results. 

It is propagated in the same way as the blackberry, and is 
best planted in the fall. The distance of planting may be a little 
less than for the blackberry, or about five by six feet for the hill 
system, and three by six feet when grown in rows. The pruning, 
training and covering are also the same as for the blackberry, al- 
though, being smaller in growth and having less prominent thorns, 
it is much more pleasant working among them. 

As with the blackberry, large fruit must not be expected from 
the Red Raspberry, unless the laud is made rich enough to pro- 
duce a large growth of canes, although such a growth must be 
protected from injury during the winter, and an abundance of 
moisture niust be provided at the time of ripening by mulching. 

The fruit is very soft, and is generally shipped in pint or third- 
quart baskets. It is also very perishable, and must be handled 
quickly, or there is a loss to the grower or dealer. 

Varieties. — Leaving out the older kinds, some of which are 
valuable under some conditions, but all very tender, I shall de- 
scribe only those that are comparatively hardy ; although, like the 
blackberry, none are perfectly hardy or iron-clad, and all are ben- 
efited by winter covering. 

Turner. — One of the hardiest, most productive and earliest, but 
of rather small size and crumbles when picked. Under high cul- 
tivation it will prove valuable unless the two new early Rasp- 
berries, the Hansell and Marlboro, shall prove as early, hardy and 
productive. 

Cuihbert. — A very large, rather late variety of large size ; very 
vigorous and productive. It is the finest variety in cultivation, 
but its lateness is an objectionable feature. 



THE BLACK-CAP OR THIMBLEBERRY. 89 

Caroline. — A yellow variety, partaking something of the nature 
of both the Red and the Black-cap varieties in habit of growth. 
It is propagated both by suckers and by rooting of the tips. It 
is one of the finest in quality ; vigorous, hardy and productive, 
but too soft for distant market. It should be in every garden. 

Hansell. — A new early red kind, of medium size, fine color and 
good quality, but seems not to be very vigorous under ordinary 
cultivation. 

Marlboro. — A large, vigorous-growing, new variety, and prom- 
ises to be as good as the Cuthbert, and perhaps larger in size. 
The last two kinds require further test in northern sections to 
prove their hardiness. 

Black-cap Raspberry (Rubus occidentals) . — This fruit, known 
in its wild state as the Thimbleberry, differs in its method of 
propagation, as well as in habits of growth and color of fruit, 
from the Red Raspberry. The fruit is less acid, black in color, 
and with, perhaps, seeds larger in the fruit in proportion to the 
pulp. It is propagated by stolons, that is, by the ends of the canes 
bending over and taking root. It throws no suckers from the 
roots, but grows in hills or stools. It requires a rather more 
moist, rich soil than either the Red Raspberry or the blackberry, 
and produces much larger crops of fruit. The time of ripening 
is just after strawberries, and before the Red Raspberry. 

The distance of planting should be five by six feet, and culti- 
vation is best done with the horse, running the cultivator both 
ways. It is best planted in the spring, and begins to produce 
paying crops the second or third year. The pruning required is 
the same as for the blackberry and Red Raspberry, but a second 
and even a third pinching is necessary to give plants a close, com- 
pact form, that will not need support. Many growers adhere to 
the old system of supporting with stakes, but if properly pruned 
no stakes are required. Sometimes the canes are broken down 
by the heavy snows of winter, and then the best support that can 
be used is a wire about three or four feet high, supported upon 
stakes twenty feet apart. This should not be put up until near 
the time of ripening of the fruit. A single strong string passed 
around each hill and tied to the wire is all the support required. 
After fruiting, the wire should be wound up and put away so that 
cultivation may take place both ways. 
varieties. 

Souhegan. — This is one of the earliest and best. It is similar 
to the Doolittle, but possibly is a little earlier and larger, although 
the latter is still a standard sort, and is much increased in size by 
good cultivation. 

Hopkins. — Resembles the Souhegan much, very early and pro- 
ductive. 

Centennial. — A large, medium-early variety, very fine, sweet 
and productive ; one of the best. 



90 



THE PESTS OF THE RASPBERRY. 



Raspberry or 



Mammoth Cluster. — A very large, late variety, covered with an 
abundance of bloom; of good quality, hardy and productive. 

Gregg. — A late variety of large size, finer quality and with less 
bloom than the last ; very productive but not as hardy as the other 
varieties described. 

Yellow-cap. — This is an old variety, very common in old gar- 
dens ; of fine quality, but the Caroline, described under Red 
Raspberries, is superior in quality, productiveness and hardiness. 

Shaffers. — A cross between the Red and Black-cap Raspberry; 
fruit large, dark red and very acid; valuable for preserving; very 
vigorous and productive. 

Insects. — Few insects are destructive to the 
blackberry. The Root-Borer (JEgeria 
rubi) Fig. 69, a being the male and b 
the female, is a small, wasp-like moth, 
resembling the peach-borer somewhat, 
but smaller. The eggs are laid dur- 
ing June and July, on the canes near 
the ground. The egg hatches, and the 
larva eats into the pith of the cane 
and passes down into the root. Here 
it continues feeding until the following 
spring, when it conies up through the 
center of another cane, where it un- 
dergoes its changes and comes out the 
perfect moth, as illustrated. The in- 
jured canes generally are destroyed 
early in the summer. 

Remedy. — The presence of the Root- 
Borer is generally made known by the dying of the new canes 
early in the summer, and the remedy is to cut until the worm is 
found. 

A few other insects are sometimes injurious to the Raspberry 
and blackberry, but not so much so as to warrant description in 
so limited a work as this. 




THE RED CURRANT. 91 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



CURRANT AND GOOSEBERRY. 



The Red Currant (Ribes rubrurn) — The cultivation and use 
of the Currant has increased rapidly in the past few years, and 
while in no way can it be compared with the grape or Strawberry 
in the large amount of fruit consumed, yet its refreshing acid 
makes it one of the most healthful summer fruits. 

Propagation. — It is easily propagated by cuttings and layers. 
Cuttings are best made when the leaves begin to fade in August 
or September. They are made of the new wood, from six to 
eight inches in length, and should be planted at once, in a very 
rich, moist loam, as directed for grape cuttings and root-grafts ; 
being sfire to give the soil a firm pressure around the base. Be- 
fore the ground freezes in the fall the bed should be covered 
with several inches of mulch to prevent the action of frost throw- 
ing them out. Cuttings may also be made in the spring, but they 
do not root so readily nor make as strong plants as when planted 
in the fall. At one or two years they are ready to be planted in 
the field. 

The best soil for the growth of large fruit is a deep, rich, moist 
loam, but well underdrained. The best distance for planting is 
four by six feet. This will allow of the use of the horse in cul- 
tivation, both ways, the two or three first seasons. Any hoed 
crop may be planted between the rows, one way, the first season. 
At from two to three years from planting, fruit is produced in 
moderately paying quantities, and with good cultivation the bushes 
may be expected to produce good crops for twenty-five years. 
By good cultivation, I mean the annual application of from five 
to ten cords of good stable manure per acre, or its equivalent of 
bone and potash, and the destruction of weeds and grass before 
they can do any harm. 

Pruning and Training. — The Currant is trained in both the 
bush and the tree form, but the former is the best, except for 
ornamental gardens, as it is the most natural method of growth, 
and requires the least labor. 



92 VARIETIES OF THE CURRANT. 

The fruit is borne upon short spurs on the wood after the sec- 
ond year's growth. Young wood always produces the best fruit. 
All the pruning required is to cut out the old wood when it be- 
comes weak and covered with moss and fruit buds but produces 
little foliage. 

Gathering and Marketing. — Unlike the strawberry and 
other small fruit, the Currant may be allowed to remain upon the 
bushes for several weeks after it is ripe, but it does not 
ship quite as well when overripe as when first thoroughly colored. 
It is commonly picked in the ordinary strawberry basket, and 
shipped in crates holding thirty-two or sixty quart boxes or bas- 
kets. Care should be taken to pick the fruit with the stems, for 
if the berry is pulled off the stems the skin is broken, and it soon 
decays. 

The price obtained for good fruit ranges from five to fifteen 
cents per quart at retail, and it is a profitable crop at these 
prices. 

Varieties. — While there are many distinct varieties of the 
Currant, the great value of any and all kinds is determined by 
the cultivation given. All varieties may be made large and 
showy if the methods of cultivation just described are closely 
followed. The claim of Fuller and others " that the differences 
in the red varieties are wholly due to cultivation," is, I think, 
incorrect. 

Cherry. — This variety is stocky and vigorous in growth^ with 
a short bunch and a large acid berry. 

La Versaillaise. — Bush more straggling and larger than the last ; 
bunch longer, berry not quite as large, but of better quality. 

Victoria. — Resembles the last in form of branch, but is more 
acid and valuable for its lateness. 

Fay's Prolific. — This is a new variety, resembling the Cherry, 
but claimed to be more productive. Its only merit, if it has any 
above the older varieties, is in its productiveness. 

Red Dutch. — An old variety, very productive, and fruit of fine 
quality. Under good cultivation it becomes of good size, and is 
profitable. 

White Grape. — The white currants are less acid and of better 
quality than the red kinds, but not as valuable. This is one of 
the best varieties in quality and size. 

White Dutch. — Resembles the Red Dutch in habit of growth 
and fruit; very productive. 

Black (Ribes nigra). — In some sections this fruit finds ready 
sale. Its immense productiveness would make it very profitable 
if there was a demand for the fruit. There is a very promising 



INSECTS AFFECTING THE CURRANT. 



93 




field for experiment in this line in the production of new varie- 
ties. If a variety equally productive, of an improved quality, 
can be produced by hybridization or otherwise, the originator can 
make considerable money out of it. 

Insects. — The Currant 
Worm (Nematus ve?itricosus) 
is shown in Fig. 70, a being 
the male, and b the female, 
both enlarged to twice their 
natural size. This is the 
most destructive insect that 
attacks the Currant. The fe- 
male lays its eggs upon the 
veins of the under side of leaf 
(as shown in Fig. 71). Soon 
after they unfold the larvee, 
which hatch in a few days, 
and are illustrated at Fig. 72, 
feed rapidly, often denuding 
the bushes in a short time, 
and, soon maturing, make a 
cocoon, either upon dry sub- 
stance near, or in the ground. 
In the latter part of June the 
fly (Fig. 70, b,) escapes from the cocoon and lays more eggs, 
which hatch out, and the second brood appears just as the fruit 
is beginning to ripen, and often strips the vines of leaves in a few 
days, leaving the half-ripened fruit 
only. 

Remedy. — The best and safest 
remedy is Pyrethrum powder, ap- 
plied just at night. It is a sure 
remedy, and is harmless, while 
hellebore, so often recommended, ^ 
although nearly as effective, is * 
very poisonous, and cannot be used 
with safety when the fruit is ripen- 
ing. Planting a few Houghton 
Seedling gooseberry bushes among 
the currants will aid in the de- 
struction of the worms, as they 
have a great liking for the tender 
leaves of this gooseberry, and the 
most entirely upon them. A 
the Currant and gooseberry, 
the crop. 

Imported Currant Borer (jEgeria tipuliformis) burrows in 

the interior of the stems, so weakening them that they cannot 

ustain the weight of the fruit. Fig. 73 shows the female moth, 




Fig. 71. 

first brood will be found al- 
few other insects are injurious to 
but none that seriously endanger 



94 



THE CURRANT WORM. 



and b, Fig. 74, the larva which hatches from its eggs and does the 
mischief; a, Fig. 74, is the chrysalis. Cutting out and burning 




Fig. 73 



all stems that by their sickly appearance indicate the borer's 
presence is the only remedy. 



THE GOOSEBERRY. 95 

THE GOOSEBERRY. 



American Gooseberry (Ribes hirtellum) . European Goose- 
berry (Ribes grossularia) . 

In methods of cultivation and propagation the treatment of the 
Gooseberry is the same as above outlined for the currant. The 
Gooseberry is not a fruit that finds a ready sale in large quanti- 
ties in our markets, but is desirable for the home garden. 
Among the best native are : 

Downing. — This is a round, greenish-white berry of medium 
large size, with a thin skin ; very productive, vigorous, and of 
good quality. 

Smith's Improved. — A medium to large yellow berry, with a 
thicker skin than the last, and of rather better quality ; bush not 
quite as vigorous, but productive. 

Among the best of the English varieties are : 

Bed. Yellow. 

Crown Bob, Whitesmith, 

Ashton, Sulphur Yellow. 

/ Ironmonger. Industry. 



96 THE STRAWBERRY. 



CHAPTER XIX, 



THE STRAWBERRY, 



IMPORT ANCE SPECIES— PROPAGATION — SOIL — TIME OF PLANTING 

METHODS THE HILL SYSTEM MATTED ROW CULTURE MAN- 
URING — WINTER PROTECTION — CULTURE — VARIETIES — GATH- 
ERING AND MARKETING — INSECTS AND DISEASES — CROSS FER- 
TILIZATION. 

The Strawberry is pre-eminently a home fruit. Its early ripen- 
ing, ease of cultivation, quick returns and large yield per acre, 
make it one of the most important fruits. It succeeds at the 
far South and the cold North, as far as any of the common crops 
can be cultivated, and being readily shipped a long distance, it 
may be found in our markets from February to August. 

The varieties now under cultivation have originated from sev- 
eral species of the genus Fragaria. Fragaria vesca is the Euro- 
pean; F. Virginiana, the common American, and F. grandifiora, 
the South American Strawberry. These species have become so 
crossed, intermixed and improved by cultivation, that the typical 
form of either is seldom seen in cultivated varieties. 

Propagation. — The Strawberry naturally propagates itself 
rapidly by runners, and in case of new or scarce varieties it is 
sometimes propagated by division of the crowns. 

Soil. — Although it succeeds in a great variety of soils, that 
best adapted to the production of fruit is a medium, deep, sandy 
loam, that is not affected by drouth. Upon a heavy, moist soil, 
the plants tend to run too much to vines and produce little fruit; 
while in a light soil, more fruit is generally set than the plants can 
mature, and consequently little or none of it is as good as it 
should be. 

The most perfect condition for the growth of this fruit is a 
light soil, with facilities for an abundant supply of water during 
the ripening period and whenever a period of drouth may occur. 
These conditions, however, are difficult to obtain. For general 
purposes a more moist soil should be selected, using fertilizers 
containing those elements that tend to increase the amount and 



METHODS OF PLANTING. 97 

quality of fruit — potash and phosphoric acid — instead of the ni- 
trogenous kinds like stable manure, which tend to the large de- 
velopment of leaf at the expense of the fruit. It must be borne in 
mind, however, that large and perfect fruit cannot be produced 
without a large development of perfect foliage; and the grower 
must use good judgment in the application of fertilizing material 
according to his soil. Fine ground bone and potash will be found 
the best fertilizer that can be used under general conditions, add- 
ing more nitrogen if the soil be very poor; or only applying 
potash if the soil is already very rich in nitrogen. 

Time of Planting. — The best time for planting is in the 
spring. August planting is not to be recommended, unless one 
has time to do the work more thoroughly than in the spring. 
Fall set plants seldom make growth enough to give paying crops 
the first season, and the plants start in the spring in a hard and 
often weedy soil that is difficult to keep clean. When planted in the 
spring the soil is light, loose and free from weeds, and the plants 
make a strong, rapid growth, that will give the best crop that 
can possibly be produced the following season. 

The best growers, who raise fruit for profit, never set their 
plants in the fall, and the small cultivator can hardly expect to 
improve upon their methods. It sometimes is advisable, when one 
has no Strawberry bed in the garden, and is desirous of having 
fruit at the earliest possible moment, to plant as early in August 
as is possible, potted plants or well rotted layers with soil upon 
the roots; but if the cost is reckoned against the value of the 
fruit produced, it will be found a losing rather than a 
paying operation. I would say, however, set Strawberry plants 
in August or even later, rather than have no Strawberry bed in 
the home garden. 

Methods of Planting. — Of the many methods or systems 
of planting and cultivation, I will mention only a very few that 
are most generally in use. In the 

Hill System, the plants are set in rows two and one-half to three 
feet apart, and one foot apart in the row, and all the runners are 
kept cut, so that at the end of the season large stools are produced, 
the leaves of which touch together and only a space of about one 
foot is left between the rows. This requires a large number of 
plants — from twelve thousand to fifteen thousand per acre — and 
much more care in cultivation, but the fruit is very large and of 
fine quality, and brings the highest price. 

A modified form of this system is to plant two and one-half by 
three feet, and during the early part of the season cultivate both 
ways with the horse. When the runners begin to grow vigorous- 
ly, the strongest are trained into the spaces across the widest way, 
filling up so that they stand about one by three feet apart, when 
all other runners are destroyed. In this way, between five and 
six thousand plants are sufficient to set an acre, while the results 
are perhaps equally satisfactory as by the full hill system. 

7 



98 „ MATTED ROW SYSTEM. 

The Matted Row System consists in planting in rows thrt^ and 
one-half or four feet apart, and two feet in the rows. Cultiva- 
tion with the horse is done but one way and the plants are allow- 
ed to run in beds covering the ground all but about a foot space 
between the rows. By this method wonderful crops are some- 
times reported, and the labor the earlier part of the season is 
comparatively light ; but when the plants cover nearly the entire 
ground it is slow work getting out the weeds from among the 
plants without injury. 

This system is modified by allowing the runners to take root at 
intervals of six to ten inches over the bed, more or less regularly, 
and then destroying all other runners. By this means nearly the 
same result is obtained as by the modified hill system. 

The advantage of the horse cultivator or hoe over the hand- 
hoe for destroying the weeds in the early part of the season, has 
led to the method of planting four by four feet. This requires 
less than three thousand plants to the acre. The cultivator is 
run both ways until the runners interfere. Then the rows or beds 
are filled up one way by transplanting the plants into the vacant 
space, setting them from six to ten inches apart, thus making a 
modified matted row. This is one of the best methods that can 
be practiced. 

For the home garden, the plants may be grown by any of the 
above systems, but if co be grown in hills, and the work of cul- 
tivation is to be done by the hand-hoe, they may be planted more 
closely. The only conditions that are necessary in the garden 
culture is to give the plants the proper amount of room, and have 
them arranged so that the fruit may be gathered conveniently. 
Of course an abundance of proper plant food must be supplied. 

Under whatever system the Strawberry may be grown, the 
plants must have an abundance of room and food to produce 
strong and well matured crowns, which are essential to the pro- 
duction of large and abundant fruit. The land must be kept free 
from weeds during the entire season, but as little stirring of the 
soil should be done after September first as possible. 

Winter Protection. — When the ground is not covered with 
snow during the winter, the plants must be protected from the 
alternations of freezing and thawing. This is done by covering 
lightly with a litter that is free from weed seeds. The covering 
should not be put on until the ground freezes, unless there is 
danger of the plants being covered up with snow, in which case 
it should either be put on or held in readiness so that it may be 
put on at short notice when the ground may be uncovered during 
the winter. The lighter or thinner the covering the better, pro- 
vided it afford shade to the plants. Among the materials most 
used for this purpose are meadow hay or sedge grass, salt marsh 
hay, forest leaves, pine needles, fine brush, pine boughs, etc. 

In the spring this covering must be drawn from over the 
crowns of the plants and be trodden in between the rows, thus 



WINTER PROTECTION — VARIETIES. 99 

affording protection to the fruit from dirt and serving as a malch 
to prevent the escape of moisture while the fruit is ripening. 

After the fruit has been gathered, if the bed is very weedy the 
plants, together with the mulch, may be plowed under and a crop 
of late cabbage or turnips planted. If the Strawberry 
plot is comparatively free from weeds, the bed may be cleared 
up with profit for fruiting again, by first running the mowing ma- 
chine over it, and then raking up the cut tops and as much of the 
mulch as possible with the horse-rake. The plow is then run 
between the rows, leaving a row of plants eight or ten inches 
wide. The plow is to be followed with the harrow or cultivator 
lengthwise and then all weeds are hoed out between the plants. 
A bed treated in this way will often yield nearly as many quarts 
the second season ' as the first, but the fruit will be smaller and 
often of inferior quality. Should the growth of the plants show 
the need of it, a dressing of stable manure or fertilizer should 
be applied upon the plants in the fall. 

Varieties. — The varieties of Strawberries may be divided into 
two classes according to the flowers: The pistillate, which must 
be planted near other kinds producing an abundance of stamens ; 
and the perfect flowered kinds, that produce both stamens and 
pistils. The former are often more productive than the latter. 

Among the sorts most valuable for market and also for home 
consumption, in order of ripening are : 

Crescent. — This is a very early pistillate variety, vigorous, and 
one of the most productive. In quality it is rather poor, but its 
fine color and perfect form make it a very attractive variety in 
the market. It easily takes the place of the old Wilson. It 
must be planted with some perfect flowering kind. Every fifth 
or even tenth row, set with plants of the Miner's or Downing va- 
rieties will be sufficient to fertilize the Crescent. 

Miner's. — This is a very hardy, vigorous, perfect flowered va- 
riety, the fruit of which somewhat resembles the Downing ; but 
it is more productive, vigorous and nearly equal in quality. The 
fruit is large and ripens soon after the Crescent. 

Sharpless. — This variety, so well known on account of its large 
and irregular-shaped berry, is proving a profitable market and 
home berry under good cultivation and in a light soil. The fruit 
is sweet, but lacking the lively acid so desirable in a fruit at this 
season of the year. The flowers are perfect, and it may be used 
to fertilize the Manchester, but does not blossom early enough to 
fertilize the first flowers of the Crescent. 

Manchester. — This is a late pistillate variety of fine form, good 
color and quality, and very productive. It must be fertilized 
with some perfect flowered kind, like the Sharpless. 

The four above mentioned varieties are more generally proving 
valuable than any other kinds. The Downing, which has been 
very popular, and is still grown in many sections, is superceded 
by Miner's for market. 



100 GATHERING AND SHIPPING. 

Additional Varieties of Merit — Hervey Davis, Bidwell, 
Golden Defiance, Jersey Queen, Jmnbo. 

New Varieties. — Jewell, May King, Henderson, Parry, Mrs. 
Garfield, Prince of Berries. 

Gathering and Shipping. — In this latitude picking generally 
begins from the tenth to the fifteenth of June. Sometimes it be- 
gins a few days earlier and lasts from the first to the fifteenth of 
July. The introduction of the Crescent and Manchester has 
lengthened the season for profitable market berries nearly one 
week. 

In the field the berries are generally picked by women and 
children, the average price paid for picking being about two cents 
per box. When the crop is not large and an abundance of good 
pickers can be obtained, it is often best to hire the pickers by the 
day. The work will always be done better, and the care and 
strain of looking after a lot of unruly boys is avoided. 

The basket generally used is the square chip basket. It should 
be made of smooth material, with openings not over one-fourth 
of an inch between the parts and less is better. If the openings 
are large, the berries are pressed against the edges and injured. 
A square box made of two nieces with a cover, callec 1 the "Siin- 
uyside basket," is very useful for retailing the fruit in, but is not 
as durable and not convenient to take to the field for picking. 
The crates most commonly used for shipping hold thirty-two of 
the quart boxes, fitting so closely as not to be moved about in 
handling. The sixty-quart crate is fast going out of use. 

Several methods of recording the number of baskets of berries 
picked by each picker are in vogue, but perhaps the best is to 
give each one a tray holding six baskets, which when full he 
carries to the packing shed and gets credit for his work. One 
person is required in the field for every twenty pickers to see 
that they pick clean and well, and another man at the packing 
stand to keep the record and pack the fruit. It is well, in order 
to know whether all the pickers are doing good work, to turn an 
occasional box into an empty one. In this way, any attempt to 
cheat, by putting- poor berries into the bottom of the box, is soon 
detected. 

The berries are picked every day and it is best to have pickers 
enough to have the day's picking gathered early in the morning 
>r late in the afternoon, according as it may accommodate the 
trains or other means of transportation employed and the mar- 
kets to which they are to be shipped. Picked in the cooler part 
of the day, unless it is wet, the fruit reaches the market in a 
much better condition than if picked in the hot sun. 

The best market is generally the local one unless over-stocked, 
or some near market a little further north. The time is passed 
for fancy prices for the first native fruit in northern markets, 
owing to the introduction of southern fruit; yet the first natives 
always bring a much higher price than the imported southern 



INSECT PESTS. 



101 



berries, and the greatest profit is obtained from the early kinds. 
Late kinds are not as profitable for it is very difficult to get the 
price up very much for late berries, when it has once reached a 
low point. 

Insects. — Only a few insects are destructive to the Strawberry. 
Perhaps the most injurious is the larvae of the 

June Bug or May Beetle (Lachnosterna fusca) . — This beetle lays 
its eggs only in soil that contains grass or other roots for its young 
to feed upon in May. The larva, the common large white worm, 
always found in turf land, feeds two or three years in the soil be- 
fore it changes to the perfect state. In land that has not been 
cultivated more than one year, these worms remain, and as the 
roots of the grasses are destroyed in plowing, they have nothing 
to feed upon but the roots of such plants as may be grown. If 
these plants be those of the Strawberry, of which the worms 
seem particularly fond, many plants will be destroyed and others 
very much injured. 

Remedy. — The only certain remedy that can be given is to plant 
only upon land that has been cultivated at least two years with 
some other crop. 

The Root Borer (Anarsia lineatella.) 
The moth (Fig. 75) lays its egg in the 
crown of the plant in midsummer, hatch- 
ing in a short time, and burrowing into 
the root remains there during the 
winter, causing the plant's death by 
injuring the roots. Pulling and burning 
the plants is the only remedy. The 
worm sometimes bores in peach twigs, 
as shown in the lower figure in the illus- 
tration. 

The Croivn Borer {Tyloderraa frag- 
arice. — Fig. 76, a, the larva that does the 
boring ; b, side view, and c, back view 
of the beetle that lays the egg, all much 
enlarged; destroys plants by boring into the crowns. Pulling and 
b ruing immediately after the fruit harvest, and before the per- 
fect beetle comes out, is the only remedy, and it is not effective. 

There are a few other insects that at times do some harm 
to the Strawberry plants or fruit, but none of sufficient import- 
ance to be described here. 

Diseases. — The Strawberry, under favorable conditions, is 
seldom affected by disease. When the plants have become weak- 
ened by some cause, as over-bearing, want of food or pool- 
cultivation, a fungus attacks the leaves and often destroys them. 
It first appears as a few round spots upon the leaf; these in- 
crease until the leaf is nearly covered with them, when it 
turns brown and dries up- 




102 



CROSS FERTILIZATION. 




The Remedy, like that for all fungus 
diseases attacking plants or animals, is to keep 
the plants in good condition by the use of an 
abundance of proper plant food. 

Cross Fertilization. — This is a subject 
that has caused some discussion among leading 
horticulturists. It is claimed by some that the 
quality of the fruit of pistillate varieties is 
changed or modified by the kind of pollen 
used to fertilize the blossoms; that if the pol- 
len of a very acid berry be used, the fruit will 
be more acid than if the pollen of a sweeter 
berry was employed. While this theory has 
the sanction of some prominent horticulturists, 
I cannot but feel that it is not founded upon 
any positive knowledge of the claimants, and 
is unreasonable in the light of our present 
knowledge of plant growth. 

In no instance where two varieties or species 
are crossed, as far as my knowledge goes, does 
the change thus caused in the individual ovary 
affect the receptacle upon which it is borne. 
The true fruit of the Strawberry is what are 
called the seeds, which are simply numerous 
individual ovaries situated upon the fleshy 
receptacle — the edible part of the fruit. These 
little ovaries are' fertilized by minute pollen 
grains, perhaps not over one-four-hundredth 
of an inch in diameter, which fall upon the 
stigmas and seeds down pollen tubes perhaps 
not one-tenth of the mass of the grain. The 
contents of the end of this tube, possibly not 
more than one-four-thousandth of an inch 
in diameter, unites with a minute cell, 
perhaps not much larger. The result is 
a vitalized cell, in which is centered all the forces that make 
the plant resulting from it unlike other plants that come from 
other seeds upon the same receptacle. This vitalized cell simply 
receives the crude sap or food furnished it by the root, stem and 
leaf, and transforms this food into starch, sugar and other sub- 
stances for the nourishment of its own structure, the embryo. 

The present knowledge of the laws of plant life leads me to 
believe that the ovary is nourished by the cellular structure of the 
other parts of the plant, and it does not furnish any material 
that can in any way modify the composition of even so nearly 
related a part as the receptacle upon which it grows. 

When it can be proved that the composition of the cob is 
changed when different varieties of corn mix, then we shall have 
reason to believe that the receptacle of the Strawberry can be 
changed under like circumstances. 




Fig 76. 



THE FRUIT GARDEN. 1Q3 



CHAPTER XX 



THE FRUIT GARDEN. 



The fruit garden is a necessity to comfortable existence in the 
country. The average farmer's fruit garden consists of a few 
apple trees distributed about the farm; a few neglected pear, 
peach and plum trees in various places about the buildings; a 
cherry tree or two in the front yard of the house; currant bushes 
and perhaps a few raspberries and blackberries over-run with 
grass and weeds along a wall or in some fence corner; and a 
strawberry bed so choked with grass and weeds that fruit is very 
small and difficult to find. 

So much of enjoyment and healthful food can be produced 
from a small piece of land, that no home should be without a well 
organized fruit garden, and the best land of the farm is none 
too good. 

The location should be near the house where it can receive at- 
tention at odd moments, and away from obstructions, like walls 
and fences, so that the work of cultivation may be done largely 
with the horse. » 

In the planting of a fruit garden it is of almost as much im- 
portance to have a plan to go by, as in building a house or barn. 
It is surprising how much, and what a great variety, may be 
grown on a small area when properly arranged. To illustrate, 
let us take a plot 100 by 100 feet, or nearly one-fourth of an 
acre. Plant four rows of apple trees of four trees each, thirty- 
three and one-third feet apart, making sixteen in all; between 
the trees in the apple rows may be planted twelve pear trees, 
almost seventeen feet apart; between these rows may be planted 
seven trees each of peach, plum and cherry, a little more than 
sixteen and one-half feet apart. Now between these rows of 
trees may be planted grapes, currants, raspberries and blackber- 
ries, over eight feet apart, leaving two spaces over sixteen feet 



104 



PLAN OF THE FRUIT GARDEN. 



wide for strawberries, and eight spaces over eight feet apart and 
the spaces between the trees and small fruits for planting with 
vegetables. We here present a diagram of the plan: 

-^ o * O * o % o 

2 

5 o * o *■ o * o 

6 . 

rj * ****** 

8 

g o * o * o • * o 

10 

■J^ * ****** 

12 

iq o * o * o * o 

1— Apple and Pear. 7— Plum. 

2_Grape. 8— Blackberries. 

3— Peach. 9— Apple and Pear. 

4— Currant. 10— Strawberries, etc. 

5— Apple and Pear. 11— Cherries. 

6— Raspberries. 12— Strawberries. 
13— Apple and Pear. 

This may seem to many to be a much larger crop than any but 
the very best of land can support, but the farmer and gardener, 
to be successful, must use his land only as a place in which to 
manufacture his crops, as the manufacturer does his factory, and 
if the raw material is not already in the soil (his factory), he 
must go to market and buy it. It will be found, however, that 
on most soils the addition of the fertilizing material necessary to 
grow the vegetables that can be planted on the land, will be suf- 
ficient to enable the trees to make all the growth they ought to 
make until they begin to bear fruit. To insure a healthy and 
fruit-producing growth of fruit trees and small fruits, wood 
ashes, ground bone, potash and the phosphates should be used. 

If it is thought best not to plant the full amount at once, the 
larger trees may be planted, and one or two plants of each of the 
small fruits, from which* with a little care and skill, plants 
enough may be propagated in a year or two to complete the 
plantation. 



FRUITS FOR THE NORTH. 105 



APPENDIX. 



FRUITS FOR THE COLD NORTH. 



T. H. HOSKINS, M. D., IN RURAL NEW YORKER, AUGUST 1, 1885. 



The winter of 1884-85 was the coldest known in Northern New 
England for at least a quarter of a century. The thermometer 
went lower, stayed low longer, and went low oftener than in other 
cold winters, and all these things conjoined to produce a maxi- 
mum of ill effects upon our fruit trees. In addition, the snow 
was slow in coming, the ground not being permanently covered 
until near Christmas, so that unmulched trees suffered more or 
less from root-killing. The only thing lacking to make it the 
worst of all possible winters for orchardists was a violent alterna- 
tion of temperatures. The winter was unbrokenly cold. 

Such a winter is by no means an unmixed evil. For the ex- 
perimental tree grower it was a genuine test winter, enabling him 
to form a correct judgment as to the hardiness of his trees. With 
between one and two hundred species and varieties in my grounds, 
I am able to report results which will be useful to many readers 
along our northern border and in the Dominion. 

The most prominent fact demonstrated is the general worth- 
lessness, "in the cold North," of all tree fruits of Western Eu- 
rope. Apples, pears, plums and cherries were alike destroyed or 
crippled; hardly one, even of those of Canada, escaped. Never- 
theless, the efforts of our Canadian neighbors have not been 
without their value, for their seedlings and selections give us the 
hardiest of the West European stock. That there is a vast dif- 
ference among them in hardiness, all with experience in growing 



106 RON-CLAD VARIETIES. 

them will allow, though I believe Prof. Budd does not think there 
are any strictly "iron-clad" sorts among them. Some of the 
Northeast European varieties have been in this country for half a 
century, and it may be that among the hardiest sorts of New 
England few, if any, are free from admixture with this strain or 
race, or with the Siberian species, which has been still longer in 
America, and is, in some of its varieties, to be found in almost 
every orchard. The Siberian is quite as different in all its lead- 
ing characteristics from the Russian, as it is from the English 
and French apples, while the North German, Swedish and Polish 
tree fruits seem to be intermediate between those of Southwest 
Europe and those of Russia. 

Of all the apples in Northern New England but one came 
through last winter unscathed. This is the Foundling, a native 
of Groton, Massachusetts. My trees came from Canada under 
the name of Late Strawberry of Montreal, which the Montreal 
horticultural society has decided to be the Foundling. The only 
perfectly iron-clad Canadian apple is Pearl of Montreal — not a 
native, but imported from France, and believed by Prof. Budd to 
be a true Russian. It is a very productive, beautiful and deli- 
cious September dessert apple, but must be ripened on the tree 
to develop its quality, and is then far too soft for shipment, being 
defaced by even the most gentle handling. The hardiest native 
Canadian apple I have is the St. Lawrence, which seems to be 
nearly as hardy as Wealthy ; but it is a very poor bearer here, 
even on trees seventeen years planted, though on the island of 
Montreal it is quite productive. The Fameuse is slightly less 
hardy than the St. Lawrence, and the Mcintosh Red is certainly 
no hardier than the Fameuse, yet none of those were fatally in- 
jured or worse hurt than the Baldwin often is in Maine and Mass- 
achusetts. Ben Davis and Clyde Beauty, apples of New York 
origin, and the hardiest I have tested from that state, were des- 
troyed, as was -the excellent New York crab-hybrid VanWyck 
Sweet. Of Maine apples, Cole's Quince and Rockwood are the 
hardiest I have tried, and were not hurt much more than the Fa- 
meuse. Of the natives of Southern and Western Vermont, 
Bottle Greening, Northern Sweet and Tinmouth failed to stand 
the cold, as did also Granite Beauty of New Hampshire. The 
only native apple of Vermont, outside of this (Orleans) county, 
that proves strictly iron-clad is the Bethel. It is a pity that this 
fine apple, fully equal to the Baldwin in every other point, is a 
shy bearer, especially when young. At a size when Wealthy 
yields a barrel per tree, the Bethel gives scarcely a dozen. Of 
our Orleans county seedlings the most valuable are Scott's Win- 
ter and Newport Winter Sweet, Magog Red Streak being super- 
seded by the Wealthy. Newport Winter Sweet is a thorough 
iron-clad, equal in all respects to Tolman's (which is not iron-clad) 
and much better for eating uncooked. 

Of Western apples, I can report well of Iowa Russet, a fine apple 



RUSSIAN APPLES. 107 

receiveu some ten years since from Prof. Budd, and the only 
Russet that passed through last winter unharmed. From South- 
ern Minnesota, Giant Swaar and Rollin's Pippin (received from 
A. W. Sise, of Rochester, Minn.) seem uninjured. The Giant 
Swaar is a very valuable apple — as good, I think, in every way 
among the yellow apples as Wealthy is among the reds. I am 
much pleased with it. The Wealthy was not in every case un- 
harmed, though only a few were hurt, and these were trees which 
had previously been hurt in the trunk by "sun bark blight," i. e., 
injury from the strong action of the sun on the southwestern 
side. The large majority of my Wealthys are uninjured and 
bearing a good crop for the off year. Wolf River, from Wis- 
consin, shows itself, much to my surprise, to be vulnerable, though 
not seriously harmed. 

And now for the Russians, which must, I am sure, be the best, 
if not the only reliance for the severest spots. We ought never 
to have placed the Red Astrachan among these. Its hardiness is 
below that of Fameuse, and about equal to that of Tolman's 
Sweet, Blue Pearmain and Westfield Seek-no-Further. None of 
these die, but all are practically worthless . here. Astrachan is 
only politically a part of Russia, with a climate like that of 
Southern New York. There is no other among the more than 
fifty Russian apples I have tested that shows any defect in hardi- 
ness except Alexander, which is much hardier than Astrachan, 
though not ranking with Fameuse. Nevertheless, I have no 
doubt that degrees of hardiness under extreme exposure will be 
found among the Russians, perhaps even here, but certainly in 
Dakota, Minnesota, Northern Wisconsin and Michigan, Manitoba 
and Canada. But for my location, the question of hardiness is 
eliminated from the consideration, and we are left merely to se- 
lect our sorts among the Russians on other considerations. The 
best so far in my orchard, in order of season, are Yellow Trans- 
parent, Tetot'sky, Duchess of Oldenburg, St. Peter, Prolific 
Sweeting and Golden White. These are all summer and fall 
kinds. It is not yet time to determine in regard to winter kinds, 
as we have not had them long enough to judge them certainly. 
Those I have in bearing, Borsdorf and Little Seedling, though 
good keepers, are too small. 

The later importations, Antonovka, Titovka (suppose we call 
them Antony and Titus), Arabka, Bogdanoff, the Winter Aports 
and Anises, and the Longfield, are all apples of good size and 
quality, and from them and others of the same season, there is 
no doubt that good selections can be made, which will succeed in 
all parts of America likely to be inhabited by white men. 

As regards other tree fruits, last winter wiped out all pears ex- 
cept the small Russians from Budd and Gibb ; all cherries except 
Lieb, Large Montmorency and Minnesota Ostheim Seedling of 
Mr. Myers; all plains except Arctic (injured), and the blue and 
yellow Orleans of Canada, and the Eastern and Western natives, 



108 VALUE OF IMPORTED VARIETIES. 

and my only Russian, "Arab," from Prof. Budd. It is evidently 
of no use for us to bother longer with any of the tree fruits oi 
Western Europe. The work already done by the Iowa agricul- 
tural college, through Prof . Budd, in bringing over the hardy 
tree fruits of Northwestern Europe, propagating and distributing 
them, is a full return for all the money expended in establishing 
agricultural colleges in this country 



ijsrnux. 



Apples, assorting fruit, - - 31 
barrels for, ------ 32 

budding, ------ 7-20 

boxes for storage, - - - 32 
bearing, age of, ----- 22 

changing the bearing year, 22 
cold storage for, - - - - 32 

exporting the fruit, - - - 34 
fall varieties, ----- 28 

fertilizers for, ----- 19 

foreign trade in, - - - - 33 

gathering and storing, - 30-32 
grafting, ------ 23-24 

hybridization, improvement by, 4 
heading up the trees, - - 15 
insects injurious to, 
apple aphis, ----- 40 

apple maggot, - - - - 42 

borer, ------- 36 

eankerworm, - - - - 39 

codlin moth, ----- 41 

cureulio, ------ 42 

fiat-headed borer, - - - 37 
round-headed borer, - - 36 
tent caterpillar, - - - - 38 

oyster shell bark louse, - 38 
woolly aphis, ----- 37 

keeping, ------- 31 

manures for, ------ 18 

mulching, ------ 19 

marketing, - - - - - 33-35 

nursery, ____---7 

budding, ----- 7-10 

cultivation of, ----- 7 

forming the head of trees in, 10 
planting seedlings and root 
grafts, ------ 7 

origin of, ___----3 

orchard, ------ 11-13 

culture, methods of, - 11-16 
laying out, ----- 12 

manure for, ----- 13 

planting, - - - 12, 14, 16 
soil for, __'-_-- 11 
turf culture, ----- 16 

odd-year bearing, - - - 22 
pruning, ------ 19-21 

picking the fruit, - - - - 31 

packing, ------- 31 

price in home and foreign 
markets, ----- 34 

propagation of, ----- 5 

budding, ----- 7-10 

seed, best kind of, - - - 5 
bed., ------- 5 

time of planting, - - - 5 

seedlings, trimming, - - 5 

digging, ------ 6 

qualities, important, - - - 4 
regrafting, ----.... 23 

root grafting of , - - - ■ • 6 



Storing, - - - - - - - 35i 

summer, ------- 28 

value of ,------ - 3 

varieties, ------ 26-28 

winter, ------- 28 

appendix, ------ 105 

fruits for the cold north, 105-108 

Budding, ------- 7-10 

Blackberry, - - - - 84-86 

eidture, -------85 

propagation, - - - - - 84 

winter protection, - - - - 86 

varieties, ------ 86 

Cherry, ------ 66-68 

propagation, ----- i;i; 

varieties, -------67 

Currant, ------ 91-93 

injurious insects, - - - - 93 

pruning, ------- 91 

propagation, ------ 91 

Diseases of the 

Grape, --------83 

Plum, ------- 62 

pear, _____--- 48 

peach, ------- 5(5 

quince, --------65 

strawberry, ------ 101 

Garden, Fruit, - - - 103-104 

GeapEj, ------- 69-83 

classification, ------ 79 

culture, -------72 

cuttings, -------70 

distance of planting, - - - 72 
diseases, -------- 83 

exposure for vineyards - - 72 
grafting, ------- 71 

gathering ------- 78 

girdling, ------- 80 

history of ,------- 69 

insects injurious to, - - - 80 
berry moth, ----- 83 

bug, -------- 80 

phylloxera, - - - - - 81 

location of vineyard, - - - 72 
origin, -------- 09 

old vines, care of - - - - - 7i 

packing, ------- 78 

preserving,- - - - - - - 7S 

propagation, ----- 09-71 

pruning, ------- F6-79 

soil for -------- 72 

summer pruning, ----- 78 

stakes for, - - - - "'" - - .73 

training, ------ 72-74 

varieties, ------- 79 

value of, ------- 69 

Gooseberry,- - - - - - 95 

Grafting, ------ 23-24 

Insects injurious to the, 
apple, ------- 36-43 

cherry, __..--•• - 08 



Currant, -------93 

grape, ------- 80-81 

gooseberry, ------ 95 

pear, -------- 48 

peach, --------55 

* plum, -------- 61 

juince, --------65 

raspberry, ------ 90 

strawberry, ----- 101 

LABELS for fruit trees, - - - 43 

Plum, ------- 58-62 

age of bearing, ----- 59 

borer, peach, ------ 62 

bug, rose -------62 

cultivation, ------ 59 

classification, ------ 59 

diseases, -------62 

fruit, gathering the - - - - 60 

fruit, thinning the - - - - 59 

fruit, rotting of the - - - 62 
insects, --------61 

origin, --------58 

propagation, ------ 58 

planting, distance of - - - 58 
pruning, --------59 

soil, ---------58 

treatment, nursery - - - - 58 

treatment, orchard - - - 58 
varieties, standard - - - - 59 

varieties, additional - - - 60 
weevil or curculio, plum - - 61 

Quince, ------- 63-65 

cultivation, -------64 

crop, importance of - - - 63 
diseases, --------65 

harvesting, ------ 65 

insects, --------65 

origin, --------63 

propagation, ------ 63 

soil, ____--_-- 64 

treatment, nursery - - - - 64 

treatment, orchard - - - - 64 

Raspberry, ----- 88-90 

The Ped Raspberry, - - 88 
cultivation, methods of - - 88 
distance, -------88 

origin, --------88 

propagation, ------ 88 

pruning, --------88 

soil, _________ 88 

varieties, -------88 

Blackcap Raspberry, - 89-90 
cultivation, methods of - - - 89 
insects, -------- 90 

propagation, ------ 89 

planting, distance for - - - 89 
training, ------- 89 

varieties, -------89 

Strawberry, - - - - 96-102 

cultivation, ------ 97 

crop, importance of - - - - 96 

diseases, ------- 101 

fertilization, cross --.-.- 102 
gathering and shipping, - 100 



Insects, - ----_-_ 101 

origin, --------96 

propagation, ------ 96 

planting, time of - - - - 97 

planting, methods of - - - 97 
protection, winter - - - - 98 

soil, --------- 96 

varieties, -------99 

varieties, new ----- 100 

Pear, ------- 44-49 

age of bearing, ----- 45 

autumn varieties, - - - - 46 

blight, -------- 48 

diseases, -------48 

distance of planting, - - - 45 
forming the head, - - - - 45 

gathering, -------47 

healthfulness, ----- 44 

improvement of ----- 44 

insect pests, ------ 48 

marketing, -------47 

nursery, -------- 45 

orchard, --------45 

origin, --------44 

propagation, ------ 44 

preserving, ------ 48 

ripening, ------- 47 

summer, -------46 

varieties, ------- 46 

variations in ------ 46 

winter, --------47 

Peach, ------- 50-57 

age of bearing, - - - - - 53 

budding, ------- 51 

borer, - ------- 55 

cultivation in nursery, - - - 51 
classification, ------ 54 

diseases, --------56 

exposure, -------51 

fruit, thinning the - - - - 54 

fruit, rotting of the - - - 57 
fruit, gathering the - - - 55 
importance, ------ 50 

insects, --------55 

manuring, -------52 

marketing, ------ 55 

origin, --------50 

orchard, -------51 

propagation, ------ 50 

planting, distance for - - - 52 
planting, preparing tree for - 52 
protection, winter - - - - 53 

pruning, annual ----- 52 

seed, best ------- 50 

seed, planting ----- 50 

soil, best .for nursery - - - 51 
soil for orchard, ----- 51 

tree, forming the - - - - 51 

training and pruning, - - - 52 
varieties, ------- 54 

varieties, additional - - - - 55 

varieties, new ----- 55 

yellows, ------- 57 

yellows, remedy for - - - - 57 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Fig. 1. Apple root cut for grafting, - ... p a ge 6 

2. Scion cut for grafting, - 6 

3. Completed root graft, 6 

4. Dibble, - - 7 

5. Tamper, - 8 

6. Bud ding knife, 8 

7. Bud stick, 9 

8. Stock showing the T cut, 9 

9. Bud cut ready for insertion, 9 

10. Bud inserted, - - 9 

11. Bud inserted and tied, 9 

12. Planting board, - 12 

13. Tree with lateral branches starting out at one point, - - 15 
13. Tree with lateral branches well distributed, - 15 

15. A perfectly formed apple tree, - ------ 20 

16. An imperfectly formed apple tree, ------- 20 

17. Pruning saw, - - - 21 

18. Pruning hook, ----------- 21 

19. Grafting hook, 23 

20. Stock split with wedge of grafting hook, ------ 2i 

21. Scion prepared for insertion into'the cleft, - 23 

22. Section of scion, - - 24 

23. Diagram of completed graft, - - - 24 

24. Completed graft in perspective, - 24 

25. The bag apple-picker, - 30 

26. The wire apple-picker, - 30 

27. The pointed ladder, - 31 

28. The extension ladder, - - 31 

29. The storing boxes, 32 

30. The lever press, - - 35 

31a. Larvae of round-headed apple borer, ----- 36 

316. Chrysalis " " " 36 

31 c. Perfect beetle, " " " ------ 36 

32 a. Larvae of flat-headed apple borer, - - 37 

32 6. Chrysalis " " " 37 

32 c. Head of larvae " " - 37 

32 d. Perfect beetle " " 37 

33. Stages of developement of the wooly aphis, - 37 

34. Scale bark louse on apple branch, ------- 38 

35. Male moth of tent caterpillar, -------- 38 

36. Female " " " --------- 38 

37 ab Larvae of tent caterpillar, with web 39 

37 c. Eggs " " " -------- 39 

37 d. Cocoon " " " 89 

38 a. Male canker worm, ■- - 39 

38 6. Female canker worm. -..._..'-- 39 

3d. Apple aphis, male and female (mag.) 40 

40. Codlin moth, in various stages, ------- 41 

40 a. Channel made by larvae of codlin moth, ----- 41 

40 6. Entrance of larva which escaped at top. ----- 41 

40 d. Chrysalis or codlin moth, 41 

40 e. Larva of codlin moth, 41 

40 f. Moth with its wings closed, 41 

40 g. Moth with its wings spread, -------- 41 

40 /*. Head of larva, 41 

40 i. Cocoon, 41 

41 6. Apple maggot, perfect, insect (magnified) ,----- 41 

41 a. Apple maggot larva (magnified), ------- 41 

42 a. Plum weevil or curculio (magnified), ...... 42 

42 6. Plum weevil, natural size, attacking the fruit, - 42 

42 c. Plum weevil larva (magnified), 42 

42 d. Plum weevil larva, natural size on fruit, ----- 42 

43. Properly formed peach tree, -------- 52 

44. Improperly formed peach tree, showing signs of the yellows, - 52 

45. Male peach borer, - 55 

46. Female peach borer, - - - 56 

47. Larva of peach borer, - - 55 

48. Trunk of peach tree showing work of peach borer, - - - 56 

49. Plum weevil or curculio, various stages, - ----- - 61 

50. Curculio screen or frame, - 61 

51. Bush form of the quince tree, - ------- 64 

52. Tree form of the quince tree, 64 

53. Long cutting of grape vine, - 69 

54. Short " 70 

55. Layer " " 70 

56. One stake support for grape vine, 73 

57- Two " " " 73 

58. Trellis, on left spur system, 74 

58. Trellis on right spur and cane system, 74 



Fig. 59. Trellis on right vertical spur and cane system, - - Page 75 

59. Trellis oa left vertical spur system, - - 75 

60. Trellis on left horizontal spur system, .-...- 76 

60. Trellis on right horizontal spur and cane system, 76 

61. Cane from spur, to be cut at a, - - - , -. - 77 

62. One cane fruiting and one without fruit, 77 

63. Grape vine girdled at A, - 80 

64. Girdling knife, - - - - - - 80 

65. Grape phylloxera, leaf form in various stages, ... 81 

66. Grape phvlloxera, root form and injured root, ... 82 

67. Grape phylloxera, winged form and injured roots, - - 82 

68. Grape berry moth ; a, perfect insect; b, larva ; c,d, injured berries, 83 

69. Raspberry root borer, a, male; b, female insect, --•-•■'- 90 

70. Male and female currant worm, ...... 93 

71. Eggs of currant worm, --...'-.''-'--.-.-- 93 

72. Larvae in various stages of growth, - 93 

73. Female moth of the imported currant worm, - - • - 94 

74. Larva of the imported currant worm, .=.= = = 94 
74 a. Chrysalis of the imported currant worm, •-- 94 

75. Strawberry root borer, -'-.. = „ r .- ° 101 

76. Strawberry crown borer, .-«»*.- 102 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




FERTILIZER ? 



mm 



000 917 164 2 

TILIZERS. 



The Stockbridge Special Manures, 

Bowker's Hill and Drill Phosphate. 



There is no manufactured fertilizer that can completely take the place of stable 
manure, but the Stockbridge Manures, (originated by Prof. Levi Stockbridge, for- 
merly President Massachusetts Agricultural College), being the richest made, 
more nearly do so than any commercial fertilizer. They contain all the ele 
ments required for each crop, and in the right form to produce the largest and 
surest results. One load will go over from two to three acres, or as far as twenty 
to thirty loads of stable manure. They not only give the crops an early start, but 
back them up to the end of the season. They are very concentrated, and are 
composed of those forms of plant-food best adapted to the crops or class of crops 
for which they are made. 

Bowker's Hill and Drill Phosphate is made from the blood, bone ateid meat waste 
of the Brighton Abattoir, combined with Potash/and is justly renowned as an ex- 
cellent fertilizer for any crop, giving early and large crops of excellent quality. 



Bowker's Lawn and Garden Dressing, 

• AND 

Bowker's Ammoniated Food for Plants, 

Have a well earned reputation for fertilizers for the lawn, conservatory and 
kitchen garden. Send for circulars. 



AGRICULTURAL CHEMICALS. 

Muriate Potash, Sulphate Potash, German Potash Salts, 

Kainit, Sulphate Ammonia, Nitrate Soda, 

Dried Blood, Fine Ground Bone, Dissolved Boneblack, 

Boneblack, Sulphuric Acid. 



Descriptive pamphlets and circulars will be mailed free to any address, on ap- 
plication. Do not fail to communicate with us before ordering your supply of 
fertilizers or agricultural chemicals for Fall or Spring use. 

BOWKER FERTILIZER COMPANY, 

43 Chatham Street, Boston, Mass. 
27 & 29 Beaver Street, New York. 



ninn v OF °° NGRESS 



